Government collapsing? Zombies hunting you down? Everyone you know killed by a global epidemic? Not to worry! Economics holds the keys to survival. Often known as 'the dismal science', it is particularly equipped to reveal order in what seems like chaos. Economists observe human behaviour: what leads us to take action, and the subsequent consequences. However, the choices made by individuals are not made in isolation; they influence and are influenced by the actions of others. A set of rules, even if unwritten, guides human behaviour. Foundational economic principles stand firmly in place, even when society is breaking down, and an understanding of these basic tenets of societies is essential to surviving the end of the world as we know it. In this book, the authors draw from popular culture to show economic principles at work in the dystopian societies depicted in The Walking Dead, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Hunger Games, Divergent, A Clockwork Orange, and Last Man on Earth. In each society, its members face resource and social constraints that incentivize particular behaviours and lead to predictable outcomes. How does human behaviour change when resources are severely limited, the legal system breaks down, or individual freedom is stifled? The examples presented here shed an eerie light on the principles that guide our actions every day. Dystopia and Economics: A Guide to Surviving Everything from the Apocalypse to Zombies provides a user-friendly introduction to economics suitable for a general audience as well as devoted students of the discipline.
Author(s): Charity-Joy Revere Acchiardo, Michelle Albert Vachris
Series: Routledge Economics And Popular Culture
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 101
Tags: Dystopia, Economics
Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title Page......Page 6
Copyright Page......Page 7
Dedication......Page 8
Table of Contents......Page 10
List of contributors......Page 12
Preface......Page 16
Acknowledgements......Page 19
1. The walking econ: learning economics from The Walking Dead......Page 20
Wake up, Deputy Sheriff! Law and order are gone......Page 21
Should I stay or should I go? Opportunity costs considered......Page 23
Should we flee or should we fight?......Page 25
You’re not alone: cooperate or clash?......Page 26
Lead, hunt, or nurture? Discovering the power of comparative advantage......Page 29
Pizza or penicillin?......Page 31
The walking econ (reprise)......Page 32
Reference......Page 33
2. Never a lovely day: the wretched economics of Mad Max: Fury Road......Page 34
Limited resources......Page 35
Production......Page 37
Trade......Page 38
Command versus market economies......Page 40
Macro Max......Page 43
Conclusion......Page 44
References......Page 45
The premise......Page 47
The hunger economy......Page 48
Micro and macro......Page 49
Free market and command economies......Page 50
Economic systems – Panem style......Page 52
The macro games......Page 53
The wealth of Panem (or lack thereof)......Page 55
Capital in the Capitol......Page 56
The rules of the (hunger) game......Page 57
Peculiar preferences......Page 59
Conclusion......Page 61
Notes......Page 62
References......Page 63
4. The Divergent economics of factions and governing......Page 64
The divergent version of “politics without romance”......Page 66
Self-interest and political instability......Page 69
Factions, coalitions, and clubs......Page 72
Notes......Page 74
References......Page 75
Constructing A Clockwork Orange......Page 77
What’s it going to be then, eh?......Page 79
A noble pursuit or an inhumane tradeoff?......Page 82
Conclusion......Page 84
References......Page 85
6. Last man rules!......Page 86
Without you, I’m nothing......Page 87
With you, I’m something......Page 89
But how will we get along?......Page 91
Together, we’re everything......Page 93
Organization......Page 94
Monitoring......Page 95
Sanctioning......Page 96
Living together......Page 97
References......Page 98
Index......Page 100
