Rapid technological change occurred in the industrial sector of the united states concurrently with the civil war, the expansion of railroads, the influx of immigrants, the conquest of the south, and an eruption of social and political unrest in europe (revolutions in france, germany, austria-hungary, and italy in the period 1848-1870). yet financial instability, with frequent events called "panics," was fairly normal -- as was the rise of criminals, embezzlers, and frauds to great wealth and power. is economic theory a reasonably adequate tool for modeling all this, or should we instead choose a multidisciplinary approach?