What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Superman Doesn't Take Over The World: What Superheroes Can Tell Us About Economics
Why do heroes fight each other?
Why do villains keep trying even though they almost never win?
Why don't heroes simply take over the world?
Economics and comics may seem to be a world apart. But in the hands of economics professor and comic book hero aficionado Brian O’Roark, the two form a powerful alliance. With brilliant deadpan enthusiasm he shows how the travails of superheroes can explain the building blocks of economics, and how economics explains the mysteries of superhero behavior.
Spider-Man's existential doubts revolve around opportunity costs ; Wonder Woman doesnt have a sidekick because she has a comparative advantage ; game theory sheds light on the battle between Captain America and Iron Man; the Joker keeps committing crimes because of the Peltzman effect ; and utility curves help us decide who is the greatest superhero of all.
Why Superman Doesn't Take Over the World probes the motivations of our favorite heroes, and reveals that the characters in the comics may have powers we dont, but they are still beholden to the laws of economics.
Why do villains keep trying even though they almost never win?
Why don't heroes simply take over the world?
Economics and comics may seem to be a world apart. But in the hands of economics professor and comic book hero aficionado Brian O’Roark, the two form a powerful alliance. With brilliant deadpan enthusiasm he shows how the travails of superheroes can explain the building blocks of economics, and how economics explains the mysteries of superhero behavior.
Spider-Man's existential doubts revolve around opportunity costs ; Wonder Woman doesnt have a sidekick because she has a comparative advantage ; game theory sheds light on the battle between Captain America and Iron Man; the Joker keeps committing crimes because of the Peltzman effect ; and utility curves help us decide who is the greatest superhero of all.
Why Superman Doesn't Take Over the World probes the motivations of our favorite heroes, and reveals that the characters in the comics may have powers we dont, but they are still beholden to the laws of economics.
212 pages, Hardcover
Published May 21, 2019
15 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 19, 2019
Mixing two obvious passions, J. Brian O’Roark employs the world of superheroes to (almost) painlessly introduce the field of economics to the unwary. In his Why Superman Doesn’t Take Over The World, O’Roark deftly displays years consumed by comic books going back to their beginnings, and tries to meld them with some basic principles going back to Adam Smith. It is filled with his observations and opinions, and more than a dash of delight and humor.
Keeping it as light as possible, O’Roark uses chapter and section headings lifted from pop culture (Dude, That’s My Car). He delves into superheroes’ personalities and contexts, and speculates on what if. My favorite what if is what if Superman had landed in a Ukrainian wheatfield instead of one in Kansas? Would he have been all about The Party, Stalin and the Warsaw Pact Way? These are questions for the ages.
He is gentle about introducing economics, but the longer you read, the more of it you see, until there begin to appear the dreaded charts that he must decrypt for you.
It seems that superheroes unwittingly display some basic principles of economics, in justifying their actions, keeping identities secret, keeping day jobs, and not monopolizing power. He demonstrates the concept of comparative advantage to show why superheroes may team up with equals or sidekicks, compared to the opportunity costs. There is a chapter rationalizing why superheroes fight each other, over economic principles, of course. The book also devotes a chapter to game theory, as in forcing criminals to cough up confessions, and a comparison of the utility and value of various superheroes.
Most interesting to me was the Peltzman Effect, in which too much superhero activity leads the populace to become lazy in their attention to safety. Why worry about seatbelts or falling off a cliff when there’s always a Superman to save you? This disrupts economic functions like self-interest, self-preservation, and insurance. Rather than make the world a safer place, it just makes more work for (unpaid) superheroes. He also considers private property and property damage as reasons why superheroes occasionally face the wrath of the ungrateful.
As for why superheroes must be independently wealthy to begin with or take day jobs, O’Roark explains there is no mechanism for society to pay them for their accomplishments. There are always freeriders who know they will still get the service without paying. Meanwhile, superheroes can’t be on payrolls because they would have to divulge their real names and addresses to the authorities. Instead, they maintain secret identities, and ordinary day jobs.
The end notes, usually ten or so per chapter, elaborate on O’Roark’s take on comic book stories or films, as well as laughing at them, economics, pop culture, and himself. They are a work of their own.
It’s an unusual approach. It reminds me of the book of essays by military men on their appreciation of strategies as laid out in Star Wars films (Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict, 2017). A lovely diversion that puts pop culture to work.
David Wineberg
Keeping it as light as possible, O’Roark uses chapter and section headings lifted from pop culture (Dude, That’s My Car). He delves into superheroes’ personalities and contexts, and speculates on what if. My favorite what if is what if Superman had landed in a Ukrainian wheatfield instead of one in Kansas? Would he have been all about The Party, Stalin and the Warsaw Pact Way? These are questions for the ages.
He is gentle about introducing economics, but the longer you read, the more of it you see, until there begin to appear the dreaded charts that he must decrypt for you.
It seems that superheroes unwittingly display some basic principles of economics, in justifying their actions, keeping identities secret, keeping day jobs, and not monopolizing power. He demonstrates the concept of comparative advantage to show why superheroes may team up with equals or sidekicks, compared to the opportunity costs. There is a chapter rationalizing why superheroes fight each other, over economic principles, of course. The book also devotes a chapter to game theory, as in forcing criminals to cough up confessions, and a comparison of the utility and value of various superheroes.
Most interesting to me was the Peltzman Effect, in which too much superhero activity leads the populace to become lazy in their attention to safety. Why worry about seatbelts or falling off a cliff when there’s always a Superman to save you? This disrupts economic functions like self-interest, self-preservation, and insurance. Rather than make the world a safer place, it just makes more work for (unpaid) superheroes. He also considers private property and property damage as reasons why superheroes occasionally face the wrath of the ungrateful.
As for why superheroes must be independently wealthy to begin with or take day jobs, O’Roark explains there is no mechanism for society to pay them for their accomplishments. There are always freeriders who know they will still get the service without paying. Meanwhile, superheroes can’t be on payrolls because they would have to divulge their real names and addresses to the authorities. Instead, they maintain secret identities, and ordinary day jobs.
The end notes, usually ten or so per chapter, elaborate on O’Roark’s take on comic book stories or films, as well as laughing at them, economics, pop culture, and himself. They are a work of their own.
It’s an unusual approach. It reminds me of the book of essays by military men on their appreciation of strategies as laid out in Star Wars films (Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict, 2017). A lovely diversion that puts pop culture to work.
David Wineberg
March 15, 2021
I love comics and have been an avid reader for the past 35 years. I am very interested in economic theory and have used it in my work as a business consultant many times. The combination of the two is innovative and interesting. The book does a good job of explaining concepts in economics using comic book stories and superheroes and is interesting at first. The problem is that it is written in a very repetitive manner and reading it becomes quite boring. Still, an interesting and somewhat amusing read, especially for anyone currently studying economics 101.
July 7, 2023
This is a quippy Intro to Econ primer for the everyman. Ten chapters, eight great ones, take you through everything from the definition of Economics to the benefit of institutions. It's easy to read and the diversions into the comicsverse do not detract from the overall gist.
Its primary weakness is linked to its weakest chapter and the question it doesn't answer very well. After all, as the text acknowledges, Superman has tried to take over the world, multiple times! When he does, only a small band of terrorists can break his grip. The comics typically end with the implication that all was well with the world after that, but the odds are low.
The author takes what he calls 'the Economic Way' as the natural state. But it creates winners and losers, as he also acknowledges. Sometimes, those losers fight back. They can win! Other times, the path to the Economic Way is paved by losers in chains.
War and politics not Economics have been the prime movers of history. That truth is easy to forget when lost in these pages. Much like the subjects of the book, the simplification makes it enjoyable. But no hard questions are addressed here.
Its primary weakness is linked to its weakest chapter and the question it doesn't answer very well. After all, as the text acknowledges, Superman has tried to take over the world, multiple times! When he does, only a small band of terrorists can break his grip. The comics typically end with the implication that all was well with the world after that, but the odds are low.
The author takes what he calls 'the Economic Way' as the natural state. But it creates winners and losers, as he also acknowledges. Sometimes, those losers fight back. They can win! Other times, the path to the Economic Way is paved by losers in chains.
War and politics not Economics have been the prime movers of history. That truth is easy to forget when lost in these pages. Much like the subjects of the book, the simplification makes it enjoyable. But no hard questions are addressed here.
March 26, 2021
Este livro me decepcionou um tanto. Principalmente pelo enorme potencial que tinha de juntar economia com super-heróis. Certamente é um livro escrito por um fã atualizado, que realmente leu as histórias que cita. Mas me pareceu muito um livro de fã e pouco um livro de análise mesmo. Fora o começo do livro, que é bom e empolgate, pouco é explicado sobre economia. Então na verdade é um livro sobre super-heróis e não sobre economia, quando a premissa e o subtítulo do livro nos fazem pensar o contrário. O livro também traz vários gráficos, mas que não fazem muito sentido para quem não é das ciências exatas. Uma pena investir tanto dinheiro em um livro que acaba pouco adicionando para quem já conhece bem as dinâmicas dos super-heróis. Eu gostaria era de saber mais sobre como eles podem ser estudados sob a optica da economia.
Want to read
January 9, 2020Skimmed it.
Why doesn't Superman take over the world? Because he is a defender ofcapitalismeconomics.
The author also describes Rorschach as a paranoid schizophrenic who "holds most true to the call of eradicating the source of society's ills" (p. 147). Great. So he is praising the Watchmen's most obvious fascist. Just great.
In the end, O'Roark states that Superman and other heroes don't take over everything because they are, essentially, defenders of the status quo. Superheroes are thus not gamechangers. They are conservative by nature, don't want to rock the boat, and certainly don't want to effect actual societal change that would benefit vastly greater numbers of people than their default stratagems. They let society play out as it normally does, interjecting themselves only when they feel that a lunatic might try to set his or herself as Glorious World Leader.
To that effect, O'Roark is incorrect in saying that these superheroes don't want to be the ultimate arbiters of justice or dictators in their own right. They do though, in a sense, in that they make the final decisions about who can or cannot exert control over the average person's life. Again, they protect the institutions as they are. Superman didn't march with Martin Luther King, Jr. Aquaman never blew up deep sea oil rigs. Batman doesn't divest himself of Wane Enterprises, give all of his money to charity, and live a life of quiet hermitry. No. They all protect capital and the institution of capitalism. They protect the President so long as it isn't Lex Luthor (or maybe they would protect him then; after all, so long as he is democratically elected, his position is the will of the people, right?).
So if you want to read how all of your favorite superheroes are actually spineless protectors of modern economics, check this book out. If you want to keep on pretending like your heroes have the same values you do, then don't.
Why doesn't Superman take over the world? Because he is a defender of
The author also describes Rorschach as a paranoid schizophrenic who "holds most true to the call of eradicating the source of society's ills" (p. 147). Great. So he is praising the Watchmen's most obvious fascist. Just great.
In the end, O'Roark states that Superman and other heroes don't take over everything because they are, essentially, defenders of the status quo. Superheroes are thus not gamechangers. They are conservative by nature, don't want to rock the boat, and certainly don't want to effect actual societal change that would benefit vastly greater numbers of people than their default stratagems. They let society play out as it normally does, interjecting themselves only when they feel that a lunatic might try to set his or herself as Glorious World Leader.
To that effect, O'Roark is incorrect in saying that these superheroes don't want to be the ultimate arbiters of justice or dictators in their own right. They do though, in a sense, in that they make the final decisions about who can or cannot exert control over the average person's life. Again, they protect the institutions as they are. Superman didn't march with Martin Luther King, Jr. Aquaman never blew up deep sea oil rigs. Batman doesn't divest himself of Wane Enterprises, give all of his money to charity, and live a life of quiet hermitry. No. They all protect capital and the institution of capitalism. They protect the President so long as it isn't Lex Luthor (or maybe they would protect him then; after all, so long as he is democratically elected, his position is the will of the people, right?).
So if you want to read how all of your favorite superheroes are actually spineless protectors of modern economics, check this book out. If you want to keep on pretending like your heroes have the same values you do, then don't.
October 20, 2021
This is a book that promotes itself on being about the economics of superheroing, and it is. Everything in the superhero life is looked at through the lens of the field of economics. But I think it’s really about motivation. Why do superheroes become superheroes? Why do they wear costumes? Why do they sometimes fight with each other? Why don’t they all become rich from their powers? Why don’t they try to take over the world? It’s not actually very deep, but it is a lot of fun.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
November 8, 2019
Transparency: I interviewed the author and was given a copy of the ARC. I enjoyed this book immensely and am impressed with O'Roark's sense of humor when describing often complex financial instruments and the economy. Great book!
March 14, 2022
Fun read linking comics and superheroes to Econ in some really creative ways… a lot of great material for economics pedagogy.
Received this book as a part of the Thomas R. Brown Foundation Book Club Series - Spring 2022.
Received this book as a part of the Thomas R. Brown Foundation Book Club Series - Spring 2022.
September 22, 2020
An interesting look at economics from a superhero focus
November 21, 2020
Really well done. If I teach economics again I'm totally using this book as the textbook
February 16, 2021
Quite an interesting concept and very well executed. My only complaint is that, by without spoiling anything, I expected a more "economic" answer to the question posed by the title.
Want to read
April 30, 2019As heard on The Indicator from Planet Money:
https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510325/e...
https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510325/e...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews