Ofterdingen and Kropotkin

'Odd, this neurotic tendency in the American businessman. Can you account for it? No? I can. Too much coffee.'
   'Coffee?'
'That and the New Deal. Over in America, it appears, life for the businessman is one long series of large cups of coffee, punctuated with shocks from the New Deal. He drinks a quart of coffee, and gets a nasty surprise from the New Deal. To pull himself together, he drinks another quart of coffee, and along comes another nasty surprise from the New Deal. He staggers off, calling feebly for more coffee, and...Well, you see what I mean. Vicious circle. No nervous system could stand it.'