Understanding the Crash - Softcover

Tobocman, Seth; Laursen, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593762720 ISBN 13: 9781593762728

Publisher: Catapult, 2010

Synopsis

Understanding the Crash starts with a simple question that still haunts us all: What has happened to the world economy? With the kind of striking precision that only graphic nonfiction can provide, Seth Tobocman and Eric Laursen explain just how we got into this mess — and how we can get out of it.
Looking back across more than a quarter century, the authors outline the roots of our current economic crisis. They show how the troubles of a working-class community in Cleveland or a newly built suburb of Miami became an international financial crisis, explaining the complex new forms of credit that came into being because of financial deregulation, and how they created an economic whirlpool. From there they discuss how, over the same time span, a smaller and smaller group of people came to control a larger and larger percentage of the world’s money — a result of rising inequality that, combined with the shortage of affordable housing, a decline in real wages, and our unwavering belief in an “ownership society,” impelled poor people into debt. Tobocman and Laursen conclude with a consideration of a restructured financial system and a look toward a culture of sustainability — one that covets real wealth in the form of security, meaningful work, and community.

About this title

About the Author

Seth Tobocman is a comic-book artist whose work often deals with political issues from a radical and independent point of view. He founded the magazine World War 3 Illustrated with Peter Kuper in 1979 and has been part of the editorial collective ever since. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Heavy Metal, and many other magazines. He is author of a number of graphic books including War In The Neighborhood, Disaster and Resistance, and Len, A Lawyer in History. Tobocman’s art has been shown at the Museum Of Modern Art, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, The Museum of the City of Ravenna, Exit Art, and Abcnorio.

Reviews

Most of us could certainly use a primer on the causes of today's disastrous economic climate and the dizzying world of credit default swaps, collateralized mortgage obligations, and derivatives. Those without degrees in finance (or at least a subscription to the Wall Street Journal) are often left scratching their heads amid this morass of jargon. Despite the promise of its title, Tobocman and Laursen's quasi-incendiary tract will do little to untangle that confusion. With its remedial tone and message of grassroots empowerment, their book could be useful for instructing some community and labor organizers, but beyond that it's hard to imagine just who this book's target readership might be. Tobocman's crude, woodblock-like inks do little to enliven his painfully unimaginative imagery; such grim subject matter is no excuse for the book's utter lack of wit or style, and the depiction of bankers and brokers as piranhas, sharks, and the like is a shopworn metaphorical device. The authors' progressive politics and fiercely anticorporate rhetoric is ill-served by such an obvious piece of work.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Catapult
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1593762720
• ISBN 13: 9781593762728
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Wehrle Jessica
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128