Among the most daring and distinctive aspects of this book is Beckert's argument that literary theory can be used to analyze phenomena that economics has been unable to explain or predict. In essence, Beckert asserts that if readers are willing to accept that fiction plays a large role in capitalism, then they need to follow that insight to its logical conclusion by applying to markets the analytical tools developed for studying works of literature. While this may come as a shock to readers more accustomed to the dominance of economic theory in analyzing markets, it is an opportune moment to reconsider those orthodoxies, for two reasons. First, memory of the abject failure of economic models in the 2008 global financial crisis is still fresh. Second, post-mortems in the form of popular films like The Big Short and Inside Job keep cropping up as vivid reminders of just how much fiction was pumped into the markets and the media before the crash. Beckert's book, while far more scholarly and conceptual in approach, complements those popular works by offering a big picture view of the social processes that make such catastrophes happen.

In this sense, Beckert does for modern denizens of capitalism what Toto did for Dorothy and her companions in The Wizard of Oz: He pulls back the curtain on the great spectacle that has long enchanted, bewildered, and frightened so many. Watching as Beckert exposes the pulleys, levers, and other mechanisms generating market fantasies may elicit mixed feelings for readers. On the one hand, there is the emotional thrill of transgression (flouting the command to "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!") and the intellectual excitement of demystifying a complex process that has become increasing important in contemporary life. On the other hand, there is the dismal recognition that future-oriented economic fantasies—even at their moments of peak excitement, such as the bull markets when dreams of getting rich and enjoying unlimited potential seem tantalizingly close to realization—often turn out to be the creations of shabby little men manipulating the hopes and dreams of others.

To be sure, there are true innovators and creative geniuses, such as Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs, who have played their own, largely constructive roles in imagining the future. Beckert acknowledges these quasi-heroic figures and the ways in which they have harnessed the capacity for fantasy to make positive contributions to the world; they succeeded not just because they could imagine new and better worlds, but because they could convince others to share and support those visions until they became reality. But for every Edison or Jobs, there seem to be many more individuals who simply exploit the human propensity to project their fantasies into the future, without delivering anything of value.