Who are THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED today?

One of F. Scott Fitzgerald's enduring books is The Beautiful and the Damned. Anthony Patch and his wife Gloria play out the roles of spoiled, privileged New Yorkers in early 20th century America. Fitzgerald depicted an especially decadent side of americana--when wealth and privilege yield to sloth and the excesses that come when people have too much money for which they have not worked. How much of this novel is being played out today in what is fast becoming known as "The Great Recession?"