Dystopia And Economics: A Guide To Surviving Everything From The Apocalypse To Zombies

Description

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. 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