Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics
by P.J. O'Rourke
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Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
anyone who understands economics or wants to
O'Rourke visits countries representative of the leading economic systems and explores how people live there. He leavens a brilliant exposition of key economic ideas with a witty travelogue. I know of no other book that makes so direct and so incisive a comparison of economies, focusing not on ideology or politics, but on the everyday practical world - how people think and feel, and what they do to meet their material needs in each system. The result is a persuasive brief for what works - what ma...more
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You know what? I love Karl Marx. He is the definitive historian, the modern day secular Clio. He understood economics, but he didn't understand wealth. Adam Smith understood wealth. PJ O'Rourke understands both. He was a marxist and then he became a rich-ist. In 1997 he traveled the planet doing a comparative study of different economic systems, looking at Russia, Cuba, Sweden, Tanzania, the US, China, and Hong Kong.
His conclusions support classical economic liberalism, while thumbing his n...more
His conclusions support classical economic liberalism, while thumbing his n...more
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Read in August, 2004
A perceptive, outrageous, hilarious and ultimately sobering look at economic reality. P J O"Rourke, a Rolling Stone writer, goes to Cuba. He rents a car and drives out into the country where the people who have been living under Castro these many years can talk freely. The "best health system" is only for the party leaders; meat on the table is a rare treat. He goes on to Rumania and Albania, former Soviet ruled countries. Poverty and despair characterize the people who so rec...more
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This is O'Rourke at his best. A reader can learn more about modern global economics in this book than they could hope to learn in a semester of college... while laughing your ass off the entire time.
O'Rourke attempts to answer the simple question of why some countries are rich and others are not. Chapters such as "Making everything out of nothing: Hong Kong" and "Making nothing out of everything: Tanzania" (I think it is Tanzania; I am writing from memory here) are typi...more
O'Rourke attempts to answer the simple question of why some countries are rich and others are not. Chapters such as "Making everything out of nothing: Hong Kong" and "Making nothing out of everything: Tanzania" (I think it is Tanzania; I am writing from memory here) are typi...more
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Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
high school students
This is a humorous tour through the economic systems of the world by conservative humorist PJ O'Rourke. O'Rourke uses his brand of irony and humor to point out the difference between economic freedom and state-run economies. The comparison should remind everyone what a dead end philosophy socialism and liberalism are. Free markets are messy and chaotic but the 'orderly' central planning of the statists always fails to deliver the goods, literally, in the end. This is a fun read, O'Rourke is an e...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommended to Danelley by:
Adamrecommends it for: everybody!
This is one of the best books I've ever read. At times it would make me laugh out loud. O'Rourke is a very funny, pithy guy. This book gives amazing insight into countries around the world that use the free market or a communist/socialist system, from Albania to Sweden to Cuba to Russia, and O'Rourke traveled and spent time in all these countries to get a feel of the economics systems and people's attitudes toward them. Anyway, READ THIS BOOK! A MUST READ! Funny and eye-opening!
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This book had me melting into puddles of giggles on the flight to Hawaii for my honeymoon. Sterling was embarrassed to sit next to me. I reread it last year again and found that it's still just as funny. This might even be on my top-ten favorites. This silly middle-aged journalist analyzes what makes economies work. He compares America, Russia, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and Albania. Not only is it hysterical, I learned a lot about how culture and liberty affect different countries.
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Well, I got about as far as I could go in this one. It introduces some great basic economics like market equilibrium and price elasticity; it also brings to light real world examples of how even the best examples of socialism are deeply flawed just as the best example of capitalism, the USA, has deep flaws. I couldn't recommend this to anyone. It's kind of disappointing. And the partisan jokes were rarely funny. It's a three star book as far as I'm concerned.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2007
With a chapter each on Good Socialism, Bad Socialism, Good Capitalism, and Bad Capitalism, PJ again hits the mark. His conclusion in a nutshell: " the free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the mall; the un-free market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except there's nothing in the mall, and if you don't go there, they shoot you."
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I think P.J. O'Rourke is really funny. He travels around the world trying to discover the causes of why some places suck and others do not. He's irreverent, he notices and appreciates absurdities and his facts are well researched. Learning about bureaucracy, economics, disasters, famine, etc... has never been so much fun.
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Read in May, 2008
Eat the Rich is humorous and entertaining, because P.J. O'Rourke is one of the most hilarious comedy writers of our time. However, I just didn't really enjoy this as much as some of his other books -- though that could be because I've never had a major interest in economics.
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Entertaining - strong observational pieces limited by ego-driven (or publisher-driven) need to make educated summary despite authors self-proclaimed disinterest and lack of understanding for economics. Title slightly misleading - nothing at all revolutionary here. But, fun to read.
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Read in January, 2003
O'Rourke explores good capitalism, bad socialism, good socialism, and other such economic systems by visiting a variety of countries. This first hand account of how systems work (or don't) is a hilarious introduction to economics, and a book I enjoy re-reading from time to time.
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Read in May, 2008
I re-read P.J. O'Rourke's books when I'm in need of something fast and entertaining; each chapter is more like a stand-alone essay, good for a quick read with lunch. Though Eat the Rich isn't my very favorite, I love the sections on traveling through other countries.
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Very funny, although again I don't agree with O'Rourke. His spiel on why he used CIA World Fact Numbers when they differed from other federal statistical agencies boils down to the fact that the Department of Commerce has never terminated anyone with extreme prejudice.
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Read in January, 2007
Econ 201 around the world. An interesting look at the way economics works from actual studies of different economies in the world. O'Rourke does a good job of breaking down theories of economics in a manor that is not totally sleep inducing.
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Read in March, 2008
A pleasant overview of economic situations & what makes some economies work, and others not so much. Will help to refresh all of those forgotten principles of Econ, and even more, relieve the guilt of forgetting in the first place.
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Hilarious political book, great writing. Even if you don't agree with his (mainly) conservative viewpoints, you have to give him credit for style. Wrote several years for Rolling Stone magazine (but don't let that deter you).
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
Everyone
I keep telling everyone how good this book is but they still don't read it just like you won't either. Fine, don't learn about the world's various economic systems in an informative yet witty way. See if I care.
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Read in March, 2008
since it deals with current events, this is kind of dated (though he does seem ahead of his time), but the economic opinions and explanations are still useful. very readable, and entertaining.
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