ABSTRACT
Starting from the northwest edge of old Los Angeles, Wilshire Boulevard winds a snake-like path towards the sea. Wilshire's socialist theory of capitalist imperialism is in fact the capitalist theory of capitalist imperialism with an added twist. Like the editor of the Investor, Wilshire's understanding of imperialism includes the old notion of autocracy or Caesarism. It was not necessary for Wilshire to stop being a good capitalist-in order to become a good revolutionary socialist. Wilshire realised that in his campaign to make socialism respectable he could be his own best asset. He craftily cultivated the image of 'millionaire socialist' long after he had sold his last tract of Wilshire district real estate. The likelihood is that Wilshire really believed that he would soon be rich again, just as he really believed in the imminence of a socialist revolution in America which would make him famous. Wilshire lived on for twenty-six years after writing his article on trusts and imperialism.
