Economix

I am FLOORED by how much I enjoyed reading this! I have an embarrassingly minimal grasp on basic economics. Like one time I confessed to a friend that I didn't really understand what a stock was, and he very patiently explained it to me, and I said, that sounds like it should be illegal?? So that's like, where I was starting from.

This is SUCH an impressive feat of writing. Goodwin is so, so good at breaking things down and explaining them, and ALSO it's funny?? I know. I know. I don't even understand how he did it.

I appreciated that it was narrated by a cartoon Goodwin who spoke openly about where things he was saying might be perceived to have a political bias. (Though it must be stated that politically speaking, Goodwin and I seem to be pretty much on the same page.)

It's also very centralized on the US economy (that's the “our” in the title; sorry, other countries) but he does spend more time on the IMF and developing nations than I might have expected.

I'd recommend this to curious teens or adults. And to anyone who doesn't understand why the stock market is legal.

Although it is clear that Goodwin has a clear end-point in mind, and therefore an agenda he wants to pursue, it is also clear that he has authored a really worthwhile book. I kind of resent being led too obviously to a conclusion, but his conclusion is difficult to avoid, I think. And I appreciate that he seems to say, although without making it quite this clear, “No one school of economic thought is entirely sufficient in itself.”