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2010•SSRN Electronic JournalOpen access

Cui Malo? Fraud and Politics in the Wizard of Oz

J. Jackson Barlow

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Abstract

In L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz Dorothy travels to the Emerald City seeking the mysterious Wizard himself. She finds a beautiful, prosperous, orderly city where everyone seems happy. The forbidding Wizard sends her on a quest to eliminate the Wicked Witch of the West; when Dorothy returns, the Wizard is revealed as nothing more than a “humbug.” How should we judge the Wizard? He has been a benign and successful ruler in the Emerald City, and yet he is a fake and a con artist who knowingly made false promises to Dorothy. Baum challenges his readers to think through the Wizard's case and judge for themselves.

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What this paper is about

In L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz Dorothy travels to the Emerald City seeking the mysterious Wizard himself. She finds a beautiful, prosperous, orderly city where everyone seems happy. The forbidding Wizard sends her on a quest to eliminate the Wicked Witch of the West; when Dorothy returns, the Wizard is revealed as nothing more than a “humbug.” How should we judge the Wizard? He has been a benign and successful ruler in the Emerald City, and yet he is a fake and a con artist who knowingly made false promises to Dorothy. Baum challenges his readers to think through the Wizard's case and judge for themselves.

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Available abstract

In L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz Dorothy travels to the Emerald City seeking the mysterious Wizard himself. She finds a beautiful, prosperous, orderly city where everyone seems happy. The forbidding Wizard sends her on a quest to eliminate the Wicked Witch of the West; when Dorothy returns, the Wizard is revealed as nothing more than a “humbug.” How should we judge the Wizard? He has been a benign and successful ruler in the Emerald City, and yet he is a fake and a con artist who knowingly made false promises to Dorothy. Baum challenges his readers to think through the Wizard's case and judge for themselves.

Key concepts: Wizard, Wizard of oz, Nothing, Witch, Ruler, Politics, Emerald, Art

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