Folsom has written several books that argue against commonly held views about the role of
capitalism in the social developments of the
Industrial Revolution and the
Gilded Age. He believes the term
robber barons is a misnomer, and that many leaders in big business were constructive visionaries who benefited consumers and were integral to the development of industry. In his book
The Myth of the Robber Barons, Folsom distinguishes between
political entrepreneurs, who ran
inefficient businesses supported by government favors, and
market entrepreneurs, who succeeded by providing better and lower-cost products or services, usually while facing vigorous
competition. Folsom identifies the following people as market entrepreneurs: •
John Jacob Astor •
James J. Hill •
John D. Rockefeller •
Charles M. Schwab •
Cornelius Vanderbilt He regards these people as political entrepreneurs: •
Robert Fulton: steamboat inventor and submarine designer. •
Thomas McKenney •
Henry Villard •
Warren Buffett Folsom writes about economics and US history for several large publications, including
The Wall Street Journal and the
National Review. In a 2010
Wall Street Journal editorial, Folsom argues that the
New Deal did not contribute to economic recovery and may have actually exacerbated the
Great Depression. Folsom argues that the New Deal did little more than trade temporary poverty relief for crippling tax rates and mountains of debt, and that the post-war recovery is best attributed to the rollback of taxes and regulations imposed under the New Deal. Folsom has created several short videos for the conservative educational website
Prager University. His lessons focus on the history of American economic development and entrepreneurs such as
John D. Rockefeller: • Why Is America So Rich? • Why Private Investment Works and Government Investment Doesn't • Rockefeller: The Richest American Who Ever Lived ==Bibliography==