In this article, Aupperle and Dunphy call George Bailey “the ultimate citizen.” George is the epitome of the heroic leader. He is kind, compassionate, civil, and especially self-sacrificing. He has given up all of his dreams to fulfill the needs of his family and community. The article discusses Chester Barnard, a management consultant writing in the 1930s. A key concept was the idea of twin pillars of leadership: technical leadership and responsible leadership. Technical leadership reflects the ability to get things done. Responsible leadership encompasses the use of morality. He stresses that a leader is incomplete without these two views. George Bailey is the ideal vision of the leader that is both technical and responsible. In his job, George both makes sure work is complete and that his customers are satisfied. Most notably in the way he treats his customers during the bank run, he works both efficiently and for the good of the customer.
    This article is unique in its depiction of George as a business leader. Many business figures could argue that George is imprudent and a poor economist. While he certainly may be financially irresponsible, he is an ideal leader. He looks beyond himself in all of his actions. He helps his family business to survive his father’s death. He helps the town survive a bank run. He brings affordable housing to half the town. While he may not recognize it until the end of the movie, he was a great business leader for Bedford Falls and helped it from becoming the disastrous Pottersville

Aupperle, Kenneth E., Steven M. Dunphy. “Managerial lessons for a new millennium: contributions from Chester Barnard and Frank Capra.” Management Decision. 39.2 (2001) pg. 156

    Fallows’s article expresses that Bedford Falls is reflective of the contemporary political times that Arthur Schlesinger emphasizes in The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom. In this view, there were three political viewpoints at the time of Truman’s presidency: progressive, liberal, and conservative. The progressives were too soft and were seen as irresponsible. The conservatives were seen as too cruel and invasive. The liberals were at the center, as Fallows describes, “between communism and fascism.” George Bailey embodies this liberal morality and acts on a check of the two extremes. Mr. Potter embodies the conservative right. He is greedy and oppressive, caring solely about money over physical needs. Naturally, when Clarence first sees Potter, he asks, “Who’s that, a king?” Uncle Billy, conversely, represents the progressive right. He is incompetent and weak. As a result, he accidentally provides Potter with the means to destroy Bailey. These two are single and both portrayed negatively. George and his father Peter are both shown as the righteous liberals. They are family men, which encompasses not only their own families but also their communities. They take care of the community while still being realistic in their goals. George does have experiences with progressive and conservative urges. He progressively wants to escape town and find adventure and idealistic freedom. Conservatively he has an urge to earn more money and power. He complains of his shabby house and his cheap car and even considers Potter’s job offer. However, he is able to subdue these extreme urges, demonstrating his ultimate success.
    This article is powerful in its ability to find exactly why George Bailey is the ideal character within the film. Not only is he charitable, but also he is the character that maintains a perfect balance. He is realistic in his goals and accomplishment and is caring in his interactions. He has conservative and progressive urges, but he suppresses them for the good of the community. While he may not originally see the value of this balanced way of life, he sees it in the end in the friendships that save him. George Bailey is not a failure because of the balance he has found in his life.

Fallows, Randall. “George Bailey in The Vital Center: Postwar liberal politics and It's a Wonderful Life” Journal of Popular Film & Television. 25.2 (1997) pg. 50-56

    In this article, Hoakes explains that It’s a Wonderful Life was one of the eight movies in 1947 that the FBI investigated for subversive and communist undertones. The three categories that determine a subversive film were:
        I. Values or institutions judged to be particularly American are smeared or presented as evil in a movie.
        II. Values or institutions deemed to be particularly anti-American or pro-Communist are glorified in a movie.
        III. Casual references to current events are made that either belittle American political institutions or promote the Communist party line.
The FBI claimed that It’s a Wonderful Life contained elements of the first two categories. As the film demonizes Potter and discredits the banking system, it violates category I. As the rights of the common man are glorified and defended, it violates category II. However, Noakes explains that these two claims are not accurate. The film does not negatively portray capitalism; it depicts two forms of capitalism (Bailey and Potter) and supports the version that focuses on small business and the working class. Focusing on the working class, however, does not make it a communist film. Instead it focuses on the home owning rights of the working class, a strictly capitalist belief.
    This article is notable because it stresses George Bailey’s positive influence in his community. He is practicing a more proper and humane form of capitalism. While there are those that view Potter and big business as the basis of American capitalism, Bailey and Capra remind the viewer that the common man is equally important to the running of the economy. The film calls for neither socialism nor communism. Bailey acts out of his own charitable will to help individuals afford a home. In doing so, he ensures that there will be happy customers and happy workers in the economy.

Noakes, John A. "Bankers and Common Men in Bedford Falls: How the FBI Determined That 'It's a Wonderful Life' Was a Subversive Movie." Film History 10.3, The Cold War and the Movies (1998), pp. 311-319

JSTOR keyword: 'it's a wonderful life' - first document

    This article points out that in George’s battle against economic oppression, he belittles the American ideals of individualism and personal wealth. By staying at the Building and Loan, George has foregone his independence and potential wealth. He complains of his draughty house and his kids’ hand-me down clothing. However, McCormick explains that the end of the film points out two truths to George: that no possessions can replace a human relationship, and that no action is as holy as making friends and neighbors. George was able to foster these friendships through his company’s struggle to combat against Mr. Potter’s economic monopoly. The Building and Loan limits Bedford Falls from turning into Pottersville, a town of vice and self-indulgence, in two ways. As people pool their money together, they help one another buy a home. In addition, the B & L serves as a voice for the people of Bedford Falls. As George is able to fulfill this role for his fellow townsmen, he has earned their trust and friendship. And consequentially, they are there for him in the final scene.
    McCormick highlights George’s service to the community against Potter’s oppression. The article conveys that the economic monopoly is a source of evil. This article is extremely insightful because it highlights Capra’s taking on values that are known to be American. He heralds George’s charitable dispositions and his fearlessness of big business. George does not help finance lower income houses so that he can be saved when he needs saving; he finances these individuals to combat the evil force that could ruin Bedford Falls.

McCormick, Patrick. "Without Economic Justice There's No Wonderful Life." U.S. Catholic 58.12 (1993) p.18-19

    In his article, Rosenblatt expresses that friendship is the cornerstone of George’s life and that Harry’s toast is the key moment within the movie. Friendship is such an elemental part of George’s life. Rosenblatt point out that other than scenes with Potter, there is no unkind moment within the entire movie. Everyone is decent to one another, and George is the lead example of this though all of his dealings. He is able to make a bank into a friendly neighbor. However, what George had never realized is that friendship was so important within his life. What Rosenblatt emphasizes is that friendship is made up of things we do not do. It is unnoticed and passes us by with the events of the day. The movie’s final sequence and Harry’s toast highlight that George is so rich because of the friendships he had. The Pottersville sequence shows how his friendship had affected so many lives. In turn, the final scene shows how his friendship ended up saving his own life and business.
    Rosenblatt’s article is worth mentioning for its discussion of Harry’s toast and the powerful impact of friendship. George had not seen how important friendship was in his life. The final twenty minutes demonstrate the value of his relationships with so many individuals in Bedford Falls. He is lost and troubled when he cannot greet anyone in Pottersville with a smile. This is turned on its head as the entire town helps to save his financial woes. The community that he had helped unconditionally was finally able to pay him back. In doing so, George was finally able to understand how important human relationships are. Thus, Harry can call him “the richest man in town,” both for his newly acquired riches and his new realization of friendship.

Rosenblatt, Roger. "Sometimes It's a Wonderful Life." Time 156.24 (2000) p. 126

    In his article Sentimental Hogwash, Daniel Sullivan argues that life’s inherent value is life itself, and the sharing of life with others. Sullivan argues that Capra’s film reflects a new vision of an American Dream, one where communal love and friendship are the true essence of wealth. George Bailey is the epitome of this American Dream. George’s initial dreams reflected those of many idealistic Americans: to escape Bedford Falls and his father’s business in order to find adventure, freedom, and status. In the battle of wills within George, his higher will to help his father, family, and community always trumps his lower will (human desire) to see the world and to go to college and to build skyscrapers. Sullivan contests that this constant triumphing of the higher will reveals that George truly is a moralistic human. While many around him are fulfilling their own lower wills (Mr. Potter, Sam Wainwright, Harry Bailey), George continues to act in his father’s footsteps, acting according to the higher will by providing means for others to fulfill their “fundamental urge” to have their “own roof and walls and fireplace.”
    This article is certainly significant in its discussion of George’s morals. In acting according to the higher will, George has fulfilled his duty to his community. He has obtained real wealth, the wealth of communal love and friendship. Sullivan even argues that while George gave up his dreams, he was actually able to find them in Bedford Falls. He found adventure, freedom, and especially status at the end of the film. While his life may not have been the epic natural American Dream of monetary wealth and adventure, it was a new American Dream of friendship, charity, and love.

Sullivan, Daniel J. "Sentimental Hogwash? On Capra's It's a Wonderful Life" Humanitas (1066-7210), 18.1-2, (2005) p115-140

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    In this article, Stricker emphasizes the value of the masses in five of Capra’s films: American Madness, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Meet John Doe, and It’s a Wonderful Life.  In each of these films, the hero is a small town person that conquers the establishment.  What is most notable, however, is that Stricker explains that the hero could not accomplish his goals without the help of the masses.  In the case of It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey and the Building and Loan could not have survived were it not for the masses of people that gave him money in a time of trouble.  These masses are only there for him because he was there for them.  Therefore, the underlying current is that both the hero and the masses need each other in order to survive. 
    This article is significant because it ties together a theme in five of Capra’s films. We come to the understanding for why George Bailey was actually saved.  He was saved because he inadvertently set himself up to be saved.  Bailey returned to his house with no expectations that the crowds would arrive to save him.  He had not spent his life helping people afford homes in order to save himself in the future.  However, good things happen to good people, and the masses were there to help him.  This article is especially significant because it does not overlook the role of everyone else.  Even with his resurrection to appreciate his own life, George Bailey could not have been saved without Mary’s assemblage and the townspeople’s money.  Therefore, this article emphasizes the parallel needs of George and those of the masses.

Stricker, Frank. "Repressing the working class: Individualism and the masses in Frank Capra's films." Labor History. 31.4 (1990) p. 454-467