The Forecasters
Corporate business and the ascent of mathematical economics encouraged Americans to think of the economy as a mechanical entity governed by firm, natural, and internal relationships, between prices and demand or interest rates and growth, for example. Graphs and charts premised on this worldview gradually filled the newspapers and magazines read by Americans interested in commercial life.
Further advancing this understanding of the economy were the rising ranks of financial forecasters – men who promised to use this new knowledge to help investors navigate the ups and downs of economic life. The literature produced by these entrepreneurs depicted the economy as a puzzle that could fundamentally be solved by learning its various patterns and rhythms. Art was an essential part of this project, converting complex processes into familiar or appreciable models that made investment as easy as reading a thermometer.
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