In America today, a public official’s lawful income consists of a salary. But until a century ago, the law frequently provided for officials to make money on a profit-seeking basis. Prosecutors won a fee for each defendant convicted. Tax collectors received a percentage of each evasion uncovered. Naval officers took a reward for each ship sunk. Numerous other officers were likewise paid for “performance.” This book is the first to document the American government’s for-profit past, to discover how profit-seeking defined officialdom’s  relationship to the citizenry, and to explain how lawmakers—by ultimately banishing the profit motive in favor of the salary—transformed that relationship forever.

"Winner of the 2014 Law and Society Association James Willard Hurst Book Prize." - Law and Society Association

"“A fascinating and deeply researched book [that] explores what must be among the least examined aspects of American history — the way compensation for public officials has changed over time. Today’s mega-state would never have been possible without the changes in compensation [Parrillo] documents.”—George Leef, Forbes" - Forbes

"“This is a remarkable book. Based on prodigious research and artfully reported, Against the Profit Motive recounts an untold story with important implications for political and theoretical issues . . . . An impressive achievement that will make a lasting contribution to our understanding of the development of the modern state.”—Logan Everett Sawyer III, Journal of Economic History" - Journal of Economic History

"“A fascinating new study of the salary revolution in American government . . . . Parrillo makes a persuasive argument about the importance of an often little-noticed aspect of American government . . . . Highly recommended.”—Choice" - Choice

"“Parrillo expertly explains how and why state and federal governments moved from paying their employees and contractors fees to paying them salaries . . . . Rewarding reading.”—Michael Ariens, Federal Lawyer" - The Federal Lawyer

"Winner of the 2014 Annual Scholarship Award from the American Bar Association's Section on Administrative Law" - American Bar Association

"“The theories and history Parrillo documents form the perfect background for tackling the radical changes taking place in policing and teaching in recent decades . . . . [His] book is a deep and engrossing dive into the history of the provisioning of government services during the first 160 years of our country. . . . [A] major scholarly achievement.”—Boston Review" - The Boston Review

"“This is an important book that makes an original contribution to our understanding of the formation and power of the American state. It belongs on the bookshelf of every scholar of American political development and public administration.”—Peri E. Arnold, Review of Politics" - The Review of Politics

"“[P]owerful and provocative . . . [This book] is a work of history, but this history has immense contemporary relevance . . . Parrillo transports us to the largely forgotten world of nineteenth-century American government as bazaar. This was a world in which one could readily mistake citizens for consumers – and bureaucrats for businessmen . . . [A] sweeping and vivid account.”—Harvard Law Review" - Harvard Law Review