 Some see L. Frank Baum (qv)s story containing political and  social satire. The little girl from the Midwest (typical American)  meets up with a brainless scarecrow (farmers), a tin man with no  heart (industry), a cowardly lion (politicians, in particular  William Jennings Bryan (qv)) and a flashy but ultimately powerless  wizard (technology). Although the little people keep telling her to  follow the yellow brick road (gold standard), in the end its her  silver (in the original story) slippers (silver standard) that help  her get back to the good old days.