One of my all-time favorite movies/books is Fight Club, not only for the callous social commentary, captivating storyline, and quotable quotations, but for the economics!
Cost-benefit Analysis:
Narrator: A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
Business woman on plane: Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?
Narrator: You wouldn't believe.
Business woman on plane: Which car company do you work for?
Narrator: A major one.
Materialism/Alienation:
Narrator: You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you. (from the book)
Tyler: You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. (from the movie)
Long-run analysis (I’m kidding…maybe):
Narrator: On a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
There is sooooo much more. Watch the movie. Then watch it again. Watch it 30 times. I always find something new and interesting each time I watch it.
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