Abrams ComicArts Economix: How and Why Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), in Words and Pictures

i loved this book, i like the illustrations and the way the author takes you through the history of economy

Thanks to “Economix”, now I like very much the Economy understanting. I recommend it very much. Good day.

I have mixed feelings on this book, enjoying a lot of it thanks to the imaginative illustrations of Dan E. Burr and the first and final few chapters, which happen to be, as many readers correctly identify, the most biased of the entire book. But I also had issues with it. I don't think it is possible to write a book like this in less than 300 pages and NOT be biased, as some readers complain about, so the bias is actually not the problem in itself. It's rather to do with some things like the format and the data that IS presented.Firstly, this book should not have been titled Economix, but AMERICAN Economix. About 90% of it is about the American economy and how it has developed, complete with first person plural (we, us, etc) when talking about anything USA-related. This is fine and typical of Americans to consider "us" as every reader, just an element I found surprising at first and a little irritating later down the line as I kept thinking that this is supposed to be a book on "Economix" in general and not specifically about the USA. When economies outside of the USA (as important as it is) ARE mentioned, they are given breezy and superficial treatment. The Soviet Union is mentioned throughout the middle of the book but the complex history of its economy and shakeups, actually quite important to the USA also, is blown throw quickly. Great Britain is given a few pages when discussing the start of the industrial revolution, Iceland is mentioned in one page, and really that's about it as far as extensive detail on the rest of the world is concerned. When some other nationalities are mentioned quickly in isolated panels, Burr illustrates them in hilarious stereotypical/cliche attire and physiognomy (which I actually enjoyed and found another funny element). The American military industrial complex is spoken about but there's no mention of its 750 bases across the world, how it manipulates and twists the arm of other countries with its SOFA agreements and so on. Imperialism in general seems to only get a passing glance in a few panels about the Iranian Revolution. Very little about how the USA overthrew Iran's government. Goodwin seems to sympathize with Americans' many victims but walks on eggshells to avoid talking about its imperialist history even though it is important to how its economy works... or maybe he doesn't care so much? The Chinese economy, America's new enemy #1 (the USA ALWAYS needs enemies), its economy gaining remarkable speed at the time this book was written, is given surprisingly minimum consideration.Now as far as the rest of Economix, overall I think there is a lot of food for thought in the book. Even if Goodwin's focus is narrow, he focuses on some important issues that are supposed to be the underlying point of economics as I understand it, i.e. the production, consumption and distribution of goods for the purpose of the betterment of mankind, not for making a few fat guys fatter. The cover of the comic with the rich guy moving up the staircase while the ordinary guy walking down is indicative of what you will find approaching this work. Given this "bias", if your heart pumps with excitement contemplating how great big business is and how the wealthy should grow wealthier at the expense of everyone else, this book is probably not for you. Likewise, this is NOT a book written by a Marxist. Goodwin even jokes about this in the final chapter, (correctly) drawing the parallels between Marxist fantasies and neoliberal fantasies of a society in which the government is no longer needed. I got some laughs from the one star reviews that dismissed the book because of this. I suppose you can't correct stupid. Also, the treatment of Reagan was spot on as one of the chief architects of the massive debt and corporate anarchy seen today in the USA, ongoing for 50 years now and worsened through globalization (another big topic here).In general, Economix is a flawed book for sure, a reflection of one man that is far from comprehensive or objective, but has a lot of valuable information nevertheless. Free market fundamentalist and raging ideologues are probably best to avoid even opening the first page, but if you're slightly more open minded this may be worth your time. Economix has the potential to infuriate everybody, there are certainly misses and holes, but on facts, there are certain data here that cannot be dismissed. As a lover of comics especially and if the above descriptions haven't scared you, it is worthwhile reading. I don't regret buying it at all.

This comic does not attempt to explain economics from a theoretical point of view. It's more of an attempt to track how the economic debate evolved in the past few centuries, with a focus on the United States.The author is very honest in positioning his work as a "starting point". This work contains the bare minimum facts that everybody who wants to debate economics should be familiar with, framed within a pretty explicit and well argumented anti-neoliberist point of view.The artistic side of it is not super-compelling, and it feels more like an illustrated book than a comic proper. I don't think this affects the book negatively though.Overall, it's definitely a hugely recommended read, especially for those unfamiliar with American history.

Must stop buying stuff like this. Shallow magazine style analysis.