In Pursuit of Utopia by Errol Wayne Stevens PAPERBACK 9780806192260

In Pursuit of UtopiaLos Angeles in the Great Depression\nAuthor(s): Errol Wayne Stevens\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Oklahoma Press, United States\nImprint: University of Oklahoma Press\nISBN-13: 9780806192260, 978-0806192260\nSynopsis\nDuring the Great Depression, the Los Angeles area was rife with radical movements. Although many observers thought their ideas unworkable, even dangerous, Southern Californians voted for them by the tens of thousands. This book asks why.\n\n To find answers, author Errol Wayne Stevens takes readers through the history of such movements as the Utopian Society, Dr. Francis Townsends old-age revolving pension plan, Upton Sinclairs End Poverty in California gubernatorial campaign, and Retirement Life Payments, known as Ham and Eggs. The book also examines the Los Angeles Communists and the free-market capitalists, both quasi-religious movements with large followings, as well as the self-help cooperatives, a spontaneous upsurge of neighbors.