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Plutocracy: Chronicles of a Global Monopoly
2051. The world's largest company, The Company, has seized power on a planetary scale and runs the world as if it were a business. In a plutocracy, the richer one is, the more powerful one is. In this context, an anonymous citizen becomes compelled to uncover how the world came to this situation, without paying any attention to the official version. Several members of the government end up encouraging him to carry out this investigation by giving him access to all information. He decides to discover the true history of The Company and the various interests that are trying to influence his investigation.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 10, 2020
Did you read The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism by Emmanuel Goldstein and think, I'd like a graphic novel version? Plutocracy might be the book for you!
The book takes place 30 years in the future, as a conglomerate of the world's largest corporations referred to as The Company, has taken the place of the world's governments. Citizens are seen as shareholders of the Company, and the more shares one holds (the richer one is), the more power one has. The lower classes are those who own no shares.
A journalist wants to write a story on the creation of this plutocratic world, and to his astonishment the Company is all for this plan. The mystery isn't so much how this world has come to be (it's 2020 when I write this, it can't be a complete surprise if things turn out this way), but more why the Company allows the investigation at all.
The novel is frightening and claustrophobic, and reminds me of Nineteen Eighty-Four's world building, where it feels like there is no way out. The art is dark, and has a denseness to it, which works well to achieve that sense of claustrophobia.
A political graphic dystopia for our political dystopian times.
(Kindly received an ARC from NBM Publishing through Edelweiss)
The book takes place 30 years in the future, as a conglomerate of the world's largest corporations referred to as The Company, has taken the place of the world's governments. Citizens are seen as shareholders of the Company, and the more shares one holds (the richer one is), the more power one has. The lower classes are those who own no shares.
A journalist wants to write a story on the creation of this plutocratic world, and to his astonishment the Company is all for this plan. The mystery isn't so much how this world has come to be (it's 2020 when I write this, it can't be a complete surprise if things turn out this way), but more why the Company allows the investigation at all.
The novel is frightening and claustrophobic, and reminds me of Nineteen Eighty-Four's world building, where it feels like there is no way out. The art is dark, and has a denseness to it, which works well to achieve that sense of claustrophobia.
A political graphic dystopia for our political dystopian times.
(Kindly received an ARC from NBM Publishing through Edelweiss)
February 21, 2021
It's 2051 in this riff on Orwell's 1984, and Big Brother this time is the One Percent. All company mergers have been completed, and a cabal of super-wealthy individuals have merged their last, single, monolithic corporation into a world government that controls everything. Sure, everyone gets to vote as a shareholder, but some shareholders have more shares than others.
There are a couple interesting ideas and chilling moments to be found, but this mostly plays out in a plodding and uneventful manner as an investigative journalist interviews a lot of talking heads on his road to discovering how the plutocracy came to be and why that knowledge doesn't necessarily matter.
The art is okay but the coloring is all murky grays and greens.
There are a couple interesting ideas and chilling moments to be found, but this mostly plays out in a plodding and uneventful manner as an investigative journalist interviews a lot of talking heads on his road to discovering how the plutocracy came to be and why that knowledge doesn't necessarily matter.
The art is okay but the coloring is all murky grays and greens.
October 5, 2020
An intelligent graphic novel on a topic of importance – and that’s already enough to recommend it.
Some may criticize the static quality of the art, but I think it’s a good example of how a ‘talking heads’ approach can work well sometimes (rather than being a totally unacceptable approach as many think). This is also a good example of a ‘Tell, don’t show’ type comic book (as opposed to the usual ‘show, don’t tell’ cliche), as most of it is conveyed in the words…and as long as the words are interesting that is also fine.
The words are interesting, as its investigating a very important subject which affects us all: the increasing corporate dominant of the world.
Some may criticize the static quality of the art, but I think it’s a good example of how a ‘talking heads’ approach can work well sometimes (rather than being a totally unacceptable approach as many think). This is also a good example of a ‘Tell, don’t show’ type comic book (as opposed to the usual ‘show, don’t tell’ cliche), as most of it is conveyed in the words…and as long as the words are interesting that is also fine.
The words are interesting, as its investigating a very important subject which affects us all: the increasing corporate dominant of the world.
February 11, 2023
Dull despite some interesting ideas.
September 12, 2020
Thanks to Edelweiss for the review copy.
This title did not work well for me--I found it difficult to follow and get involved.
This title did not work well for me--I found it difficult to follow and get involved.
January 7, 2021
reads like a half-baked thought experiment. the last nine months alone made the conclusion age pretty poorly, in my opinion
liked the art style at least!
liked the art style at least!
August 15, 2022
Livre très intéressant sur le fonctionnement du capitalisme. Malgré quelques longueurs, je trouve l'histoire bien amenée. Je recommande fortement !
February 24, 2024
4.5 stars.
September 22, 2020
Premise - The world has been taken over by a central Company and one lone investigator is searching for the truth of its history as well as the current practices. The trope of Companies taking over has been used extensively. What makes this journey unique is the Noir feel and at times some food for thought on some modern dilemmas, especially the social experiment being played out on Social Media.
As usual, the investigator uncovers more than they bargained for and Martinez's writing quickly lured me into the tale. I read it rapidly in one sitting and have since taken my time over the next two days to pour over it in closer detail.
I highly recommend the printed graphic novel over the ebook.
Recommended: Noir fans; anyone who like to chew on ideas; and all non-sheeple.
**This was a review copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.**
As usual, the investigator uncovers more than they bargained for and Martinez's writing quickly lured me into the tale. I read it rapidly in one sitting and have since taken my time over the next two days to pour over it in closer detail.
I highly recommend the printed graphic novel over the ebook.
Recommended: Noir fans; anyone who like to chew on ideas; and all non-sheeple.
**This was a review copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.**
September 25, 2020
Quand j’ai emprunté cette BD à la bibliothèque, je me suis dit tiens encore une dystopie. Et puis les dessins ne m’ont pas trop attiré. Tout ceci pour dire que je n’étais pas très enthousiaste en commençant cette bande dessinée dont je n’avais jamais entendu parler et dont je ne connaissais pas son auteur, l’espagnol Abraham Martinez.
En débutant ma lecture, je ne sais donc pas trop quoi en penser, je vois bien l’idée du scénario inspiré de la dérive actuelle, mais je peine à croire qu’il soit crédible – pourquoi pas après tout, mais je reste quand même sceptique et ça m’empêche d’entrer vraiment dans l’histoire. Quant aux dessins, ils sont vraiment très marqués, très particuliers, très noirs, certains personnages sont volontairement moches. Je sais que c’est un choix délibéré, mais ce n’est pas très agréable – je sais ce n’est pas fait pour l’être – mais ça n’aide pas à apprécier la BD. Dans le genre dystopie récente en BD je trouve que Préférences Systèmes a mis un grand coup y compris sur l’aspect graphique. Puis, des références, dans les dessins et dans le texte, à Ayn Rand et à son livre Atlas Shrugged ravivent mon intérêt.
Plus j’avance dans la lecture et plus je me dis que c’est peut-être finalement pas si mal de pousser le concept jusqu’au bout car c’est quand même l’argent qui régit la politique sans que l’on veuille vraiment se l’avouer. Les politiques dépensent une énergie folle à justifier l’injustifiable au lieu de l’assumer et d’avouer aux citoyens les vraies raisons qui guident leur choix.
Le dilemme du tramway[1] repris dans ce livre illustre bien justement les choix permanents auquel sont confrontés ceux qui nous gouvernent. Comme l’illustre très bien la scène dans le livre, et notamment grâce à de très bon dialogues, le dilemme du tramway semble simple à résoudre alors que sa transposition sur un autre terrain pose un cas de conscience beaucoup moins évident. Ce problème est d’ailleurs au coeur des questions éthiques soulevées par l’avènement des intelligences artificielles et leurs interactions avec les humains.
La fin est très bien trouvée et ce qui paraissait exagéré au début se révèle être un procédé très intéressant pour effectuer ce type de démonstration. Pousser le curseur complètement vers la ploutocratie est une façon de mettre en lumière les dérives de notre système qui n’est pas une pure démocratie, mais une base de démocratie gérée par une technocratie elle-même pilotée par une ploutocratie.
Également publié sur mon blog.
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[1] Le dilemme ou problème du tramway (trolley problem en anglais) est une expérience de pensée qui se conçoit ainsi sous une forme générale : une personne peut effectuer un geste qui bénéficiera à un groupe de personnes A, mais, ce faisant, nuira à une personne B ; dans ces circonstances, est-il moral pour la personne d’effectuer ce geste ? (Wikipédia)
En débutant ma lecture, je ne sais donc pas trop quoi en penser, je vois bien l’idée du scénario inspiré de la dérive actuelle, mais je peine à croire qu’il soit crédible – pourquoi pas après tout, mais je reste quand même sceptique et ça m’empêche d’entrer vraiment dans l’histoire. Quant aux dessins, ils sont vraiment très marqués, très particuliers, très noirs, certains personnages sont volontairement moches. Je sais que c’est un choix délibéré, mais ce n’est pas très agréable – je sais ce n’est pas fait pour l’être – mais ça n’aide pas à apprécier la BD. Dans le genre dystopie récente en BD je trouve que Préférences Systèmes a mis un grand coup y compris sur l’aspect graphique. Puis, des références, dans les dessins et dans le texte, à Ayn Rand et à son livre Atlas Shrugged ravivent mon intérêt.
Mais si vous voulez parler d’idéaux, je vous dirai ceci: le marché a sa propre voix qui s’exprime avec une lumineuse clarté. Personne ne peut la museler et elle dit toujours la vérité. C’est la raison pour laquelle il peut parfois sembler cruel. Mais le fait que nous sommes tous le marché ! Que peut-il y avoir de plus démocratique ? De plus juste ? Comment le mettre en cause ?
Plus j’avance dans la lecture et plus je me dis que c’est peut-être finalement pas si mal de pousser le concept jusqu’au bout car c’est quand même l’argent qui régit la politique sans que l’on veuille vraiment se l’avouer. Les politiques dépensent une énergie folle à justifier l’injustifiable au lieu de l’assumer et d’avouer aux citoyens les vraies raisons qui guident leur choix.
Le dilemme du tramway[1] repris dans ce livre illustre bien justement les choix permanents auquel sont confrontés ceux qui nous gouvernent. Comme l’illustre très bien la scène dans le livre, et notamment grâce à de très bon dialogues, le dilemme du tramway semble simple à résoudre alors que sa transposition sur un autre terrain pose un cas de conscience beaucoup moins évident. Ce problème est d’ailleurs au coeur des questions éthiques soulevées par l’avènement des intelligences artificielles et leurs interactions avec les humains.
La question est très simple. Que faut-il faire selon vous: laisser le tramway suivre son cours et tuer cinq personnes, ou le dévier de sorte qu’une seule personne soit tuée ?
La fin est très bien trouvée et ce qui paraissait exagéré au début se révèle être un procédé très intéressant pour effectuer ce type de démonstration. Pousser le curseur complètement vers la ploutocratie est une façon de mettre en lumière les dérives de notre système qui n’est pas une pure démocratie, mais une base de démocratie gérée par une technocratie elle-même pilotée par une ploutocratie.
Également publié sur mon blog.
----
[1] Le dilemme ou problème du tramway (trolley problem en anglais) est une expérience de pensée qui se conçoit ainsi sous une forme générale : une personne peut effectuer un geste qui bénéficiera à un groupe de personnes A, mais, ce faisant, nuira à une personne B ; dans ces circonstances, est-il moral pour la personne d’effectuer ce geste ? (Wikipédia)
September 20, 2020
Plutocracy is a fascinating dystopian graphic novel. I enjoyed the way color and image were used alongside words in the text to transport the reader to an alternative, stark reality. The work Abraham Martinez has done in creating features and images of haunting figures is also noteworthy. Well worth the read.
March 18, 2020
Bon, c'est pas la bonne période pour lire cette BD, avec toute la parano que je peux développer vis-à-vis de nos chers dirigeants. Cette BD tire cette parano jusqu'au bout. C'est flippant parce que c'est pas totalement irréaliste.
En dehors de cela, ce n'est pas trop mon style de BD, un peu trop de texte à mon goût et pas mes dessins favoris, mais pas de doute, ça m'a marquée.
En dehors de cela, ce n'est pas trop mon style de BD, un peu trop de texte à mon goût et pas mes dessins favoris, mais pas de doute, ça m'a marquée.
October 6, 2020
I normally enjoy a good dystopian graphic novel, but I literally nodded off about four times as I was reading this one. The premise had legs, I suppose, as a warning tale about billionaires’ unprecedented (and president-ed) involvement in politics, where citizen voters must be shareholders. But I was unimpressed by the art and bored by the pacing. It’s a no from me, dawg.
September 18, 2020
Hmmm… A book that tries to envisage a future Earth, where the entirety of humanity is there to serve the one Company that rules everything, the solitary corporation that has bought out all others, and all our freedoms and democracy with it. One minute our hero is working as a cop for The Company, then retiring as he has funds to sort out a new line, perhaps in journalism, the next he's broke and desperate for someone to employ him in working out the Company's backstory. Funnily enough, someone agrees to do just that.
But we might have wished they didn't, for this is just a poorly-written yack-fest. The investigation starts with people waffling on about how the Company got to power, with no connection to our reality – this is no moral, no parallel, no allegory or fable of our own lives and times. It just is its own insular story we cannot care enough about. And every way he turns – to the President of Earth, to, er, some other bloke – all we get is weakly didactic yack. The problem with that is, unfortunately, it never feels like having anything to say to us – there's no warning, just discussion. The book flashes white, and never the red of 'stop going down this route'.
There is hardly any red in it anyway, for this has a very grey, muted palette, with lots of semi-invisible people in the shadows. Details did look rather appropriate – I'm sure I recognised a bit of Hitler's Germania idea of a world capital in the Company's Presidential Palace, and in amongst all the horrendously ugly caricatures lots of Rees-Mogg hats on bankers. But only a supercomputer that knew more about us than we do ourselves, through near-infinite abilities to cross-reference and log each and every contact, thought and purchase, seemed to hit home. The rest could have been a fantasy about anywhere, and the fact it keeps mentioning a financial crisis of the 2010s, when the closest we had was the one begun in 2008 or earlier, seems to suggest this really isn't connected to telling us anything about our modern world. In other words, it's nigh-on pointless. One and a half stars, and a lot of that is the design.
But we might have wished they didn't, for this is just a poorly-written yack-fest. The investigation starts with people waffling on about how the Company got to power, with no connection to our reality – this is no moral, no parallel, no allegory or fable of our own lives and times. It just is its own insular story we cannot care enough about. And every way he turns – to the President of Earth, to, er, some other bloke – all we get is weakly didactic yack. The problem with that is, unfortunately, it never feels like having anything to say to us – there's no warning, just discussion. The book flashes white, and never the red of 'stop going down this route'.
There is hardly any red in it anyway, for this has a very grey, muted palette, with lots of semi-invisible people in the shadows. Details did look rather appropriate – I'm sure I recognised a bit of Hitler's Germania idea of a world capital in the Company's Presidential Palace, and in amongst all the horrendously ugly caricatures lots of Rees-Mogg hats on bankers. But only a supercomputer that knew more about us than we do ourselves, through near-infinite abilities to cross-reference and log each and every contact, thought and purchase, seemed to hit home. The rest could have been a fantasy about anywhere, and the fact it keeps mentioning a financial crisis of the 2010s, when the closest we had was the one begun in 2008 or earlier, seems to suggest this really isn't connected to telling us anything about our modern world. In other words, it's nigh-on pointless. One and a half stars, and a lot of that is the design.
September 18, 2020
The year is 2051. Not that far from now. The excessive merging of companies since the 20th century have resulted in a single company employing all the workers in the world. It didn’t take long for The Company, as it calls itself, to take over world government too. It was the ultimate victory of the Plutocracy.
Homero worked quietly as a detective in The Company for years. One day, he quits, determined to find more meaning in his life. Maybe journalism? He decides to investigate how The Company came to be.
Hmmm. Plutocracy is definitely based on what is currently happening in the world. The Haves are increasingly purchasing politicians so that tax and other laws are re-written to favor the rich. Hopefully, we will stop it before it results in the dystopian future depicted here. Even the artwork is drab with a greenish cast. Still, I enjoyed the surprise ending. 3 stars.
Thanks to Papercutz and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Homero worked quietly as a detective in The Company for years. One day, he quits, determined to find more meaning in his life. Maybe journalism? He decides to investigate how The Company came to be.
Hmmm. Plutocracy is definitely based on what is currently happening in the world. The Haves are increasingly purchasing politicians so that tax and other laws are re-written to favor the rich. Hopefully, we will stop it before it results in the dystopian future depicted here. Even the artwork is drab with a greenish cast. Still, I enjoyed the surprise ending. 3 stars.
Thanks to Papercutz and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
June 24, 2023
“Plutocracy: Chronicles of a global Monopoly“ the story in art by Abraham Martinez is a dystopian look at a possible future in a graphic novel format.
It’s 2051 and corporations run the world now. Everyone is a shareholder, but some have more shares than others. A young writer asks to write a book about the history of the company which now runs the world and is strangely enough given full access. When everything is a product, even a tell all book is a profit center.
It’s a novel in the style of 1984. The story is bleak and the art is pretty static. I like what the author tried to do but the whole thing comes across as pretty ham-fisted, and I ended up not really caring for it.
It’s 2051 and corporations run the world now. Everyone is a shareholder, but some have more shares than others. A young writer asks to write a book about the history of the company which now runs the world and is strangely enough given full access. When everything is a product, even a tell all book is a profit center.
It’s a novel in the style of 1984. The story is bleak and the art is pretty static. I like what the author tried to do but the whole thing comes across as pretty ham-fisted, and I ended up not really caring for it.
September 18, 2020
I think you’ll enjoy this book a lot more than I did if you’re more interested/knowledgeable about government and politics. It was an interesting concept and I liked the story enough but I don’t see it being something very memorable for me. I liked the art and the structure of the graphic novel was well done (I.e. nonlinear and includes “multimedia” content). Overall not a bad book but I just don’t think I’m the right audience.
September 18, 2020
The government has been taken over by a business, The Company, and run like one as well. The entire world is run by one person. This book is about a man who wants to know how this system started. The Company supports this man's desire to write a book exposing The Company just because it will make money. #Plutocracy #NetGalley
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October 18, 2020this was an interesting take on a very dense topic. I quite liked the sparse feel of the artwork, and it brings some understanding to the terrifying thought of a near-future with complete control by the wealthy few.
March 2, 2022
Interesting take on the "corporations are taking over" story. The lesson: Like an amoeba, corporate capitalism absorbs revolution and rebellion and turns it into something to sell and make money on; that is why it's so durable.
March 18, 2023
I liked this book, great idea; but in a copy I got that was printed in 2020, on pages: 16 box 3 - ‘town’ should be ‘down’, and 62 box 1 - ‘that’ should be ‘than’, not sure if I missed any others. It really spoilt it thinking that there was really bad proof-reading going on!
February 2, 2026
One of those reads where I kept groaning “oh no, this is horrible”… immediately followed by “oh no, this is true.” It lays bare how deeply we’re held hostage by money and the greed of powerful men and it’s bleak.
Want to read
August 29, 2020Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
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November 30, 2020
This was an interesting read. Listed as nonfiction, though this is more of an... allegory? Parable? Something like that. Kinda depressing, but also, makes sense.
March 7, 2021
Great book!! Very furturistic - something to think about for sure.
August 5, 2022
This felt like a 1984 knockoff. While I appreciate what it was aiming for, the execution misses the mark for me.
August 23, 2022
La Compañía es más realidad que distopía. El guión y cómo se resuelve parte de la trama es simplón
December 15, 2024
Crònica del que pot esdevenir el capitalisme, tot i que el títol ja descrigui el tipus de societat on vivim actualment. Els dibuixos bastant horribles, això sí.
March 23, 2025
One President-One World. The corporation that owns everything owns the government. The CEO is now president and everyone is a shareholder. What are your shares worth?
September 14, 2025
Una buena crítica a un sistema más cercano de lo que creemos.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews