A socialist father shaped the founder of Chicago’s capitalist futures exchange

Evidence

Asked why he devoted effort to collective projects, Melamed cited the influence of his father, a socialist and Bundist, who taught him to “work for society as a whole. My father had instilled in me [the] idea that you gain immortality by tying yourself up with an idea, or a movement, or an institution that transcends mortality” (Melamed interview). “We … never thought of even asking for reimbursement [for expenses involved in creating the CBOE],” says Eisen. “This was part of the concept that was inculcated into all of us: ‘You owe it to your community.’ We had all done very nicely, thank you … and we felt that we had an obligation to the Exchange and this is how you pay your obligations” (Eisen interview). — Donald MacKenzie & Yuval Millo, Constructing a Market, Performing Theory, 73

Categorization

• XREF: Reinforces the passage at 72 — the founders’ motivation is decidedly non-economistic. Also echoes the bundist/socialist origins of several major financial innovation figures.
• CANDY: Terrific cocktail-party fact: the architect of Chicago’s futures/options market was driven by lessons from his socialist father.