Babbittry

Babbittry is a derogatory term for the ethics and practices of small independent businessmen operating under the relatively free market conditions existing in the United States before the massive governmental interventions of the 1920's and 1930's. The term comes from the novel Babbitt (1922) in which the author, Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), derides the behavior and character of George Follansbee Babbitt, a fictional middle class realtor.