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Complex Economy in comic form

A book explaining the economy in comic form is being penned by American traveller, Michael Goodwin, in Fort Kochi

SELF TAUGHT Michael Goodwin finds Kochi a nice, quiet place to write PHOTO: H. VIBHU

The intricacies of economics in comic form: Sounds incongruous, but it's taking shape right here in Kochi. The city that draws the sightseer, the filmmaker, and the culture buff is proving ideal for writers too. They find its quiet perfect to brood, ponder, reflect and write. So, we have American tourist, Michael Goodwin who has made Fort Kochi his home, for the last one-and-a-half years, writing a book explaining the economy of the world.

Explaining economy

What makes his attempt and efforts newsworthy is that the book will be in a comic form so as to enable readers to comprehend the subject easily. Says Mr. Goodwin, "This is a book explaining the economy, not one explaining economics." Explaining the difference in a very Indian context he says, "Economics is what Amartya Sen writes about. The economy is what Arundhati Roy writes about. Economics is a subject everyone needs to understand. If Americans understood how things actually work, we would never have voted for George Bush. I looked for a book that explained the subject simply and clearly; when I couldn't find one, I decided I had to write one."

So driven by a hope that after understanding the economics of it all, people make the right choices, Mr. Goodwin is explaining economic theories along with illustrations. "The book will be in comic form and, I hope, simple and funny. In Kochi I'm writing out the text; I can't do the illustrations. I can only manage stick figures, so I'll find an illustrator when I get back to America," says the medical researcher whose 300-odd pages book will explain world economy beginning with Adam Smith to Amartya Sen. The use of comic medium to tackle the complex subject of economics is novel. Says Mr. Goodwin, "I was inspired by Larry Gonick's Cartoon history of the Universe, which deals with the civilisations of the world in cartoon form. It makes interesting reading and the visual aspect adds to the whole effect. My book is arranged historically."

His book, that's yet to be named will deal with Adam Smith, The American and French revolutions, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, Industrial revolution, Marx and Engel, Development of big Corporations, Privatisation and of course Globalisation. Poverty, Takeovers, Welfare, and a host of other subjects too.

A New Yorker, Goodwin finds Kochi ideal for working on the book. "Fort Kochi is a quiet, peaceful place to focus on work, but Ernakulam is right there if one gets bored. I can afford to take a lot more time off here than in New York," says the debut writer who often takes the rowboat to Ernakulam.

Voluntary work

Back in 2004 when the tsunami struck Southern India, Goodwin packed a truckload of water, medicines and other essentials to reach Nagapattinam and help out. It was voluntary work. The human misery was too great to ignore as Goodwin worked in tsunami-racked countryside, opposed to what the Malthusian principle in his book states: People ignore others' misery with a clean conscience. Concluding after his research the self taught economist feels that, what works in practice is a `mixed economy. "That means government should leave small-scale business alone but should regulate, or even run large-scale business- big corporations, public utilities, and the like. We Americans preach deregulation and privatisation of everything, but believe me, we don't try it at home, and neither should anyone else. The Russians believed us, and look what's happened to them."

Explaining John Kenneth Galbraith's ideas, says Goodwin, "The book will take a critical view of advertising. The whole point of producing goods is to satisfy wants. Advertising does the reverse. It makes us dissatisfied with what we have. In America we turn out stuff we don't want, then we spend billions of dollars in advertising to make ourselves buy it."And finally his understanding of Kerala economy is, "The usual idea is that people become rich first, and then education and healthcare follow. Kerala shows that it can work in reverse. Literacy and healthcare are leading people to become wealthy."

PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA

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