Capitalism Versus Socialism: The Great Seligman-Nearing Debate of 1921

Sunday, January 23, 1921, midtown Manhattan, the Lexington Theater. It was a good day to watch a fight. A packed audience attended the sold-out event. An estimated 3,500 were in the theater, while others sought out tickets, at a stiff markup, from hawkers on the sidewalk.

Was this a boxing match? A wrestling bout? An exhibition of martial arts? No, this was to be a battle between two economics professors, a three-round debate on a weighty topic on everyone's mind: capitalism versus socialism...