How is the Ku Klux Klan like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?
The authors assert that information asymmetry is one of the most powerful economic tools. Entire industries have flourished and many significant historical events have transpired as the result of an imbalance in the flow of information. In keeping with this theory, the authors offer the story of a man who helped cripple the racist Ku Klux Klan simply by widely disseminating their secrets. Stetson Kennedy infiltrated the group in the World War II-era and systematically documented the secret rituals and codes of the organization. Kennedy then supplied the records to Hollywood writers, who used the information to create a long-running story arc on the wildly popular Superman radio serial. Children across the United States imitated the shows in their schoolyard games, and gradually, the mystery, grandeur, and influence of the group were profoundly diminished. The authors relate a number of other instances of information asymmetry being used as an economic tool, including, most prominently,
