In P.J. O'Rourke's classic bestseller Parliament of Whores, he attempted to explain the
entire United States government. Now, in his most ambitious book since, he takes on an
even broader subject, but one that is dear to us all - wealth. What is it? How do you get
it? Or, as P.J. says, "Why do some places prosper and thrive, while others just
suck?
The obvious starting point is Wall Street. P.J. takes the reader on a scary, hilarious,
and enlightening visit to the New York Stock Exchange, explaining along the way stocks,
bonds, debentures, commodities, derivatives-and why the floor of the exchange is America's
last refuge for non-psychotic litterers.
P.J. then sets off on a world tour to investigate funny economics. Having seen
"good capitalism" on Wall Street, he looks at "bad capitalism" in
Albania, views good socialism" in Sweden, and endures "bad socialism in Cuba. Head reeling, he decides to tackle that Econ. 101 course he avoided in college.
The result is the worlds only astute, comprehensive and concise presentation of the basic principles of economics that can make you laugh, on purpose.
Armed with theory, P.J. ventures to Russia in a chapter entitled "How (or How Not) to Reform (Maybe) an Economy (If There Is One) and discovers that Russia is a wonderful case study-unless, of course, you're Russian. P.J. then goes to Tanzania, a country rich in resources that is utterly destitute, before arriving in Hong Kong, which even as the British prepare to hand it over to the communists is a shining example of how unfettered economic activity can "make everything from nothing." P.J. ends up in Shanghai, observing a top-down transition to capitalism, a process he describes as if the ancient Egyptians had constructed the pyramid of Khufu by saying, Thutnefer, you
hold up this two-ton pointy piece while the rest of the slaves go get 2,300,000 blocks of
stone.
P.J.s conclusion in a nutshell: the free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the
mall; the unfree 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.
Laugh and sob as you read about the information age economy's new dominant class.
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