On the Hunger Games II

If you are unfamiliar with “agorism” and would like an introduction, look no further than the first few chapters of The Hunger Games, book one. It describes Katniss and Gale crawling under the unpowered electrical fence around their district to hunt game and gather food, return and trade it at the black market known as “the Hob.” Their actions, if caught, are punishable by death, yet they do it day after day, for years. Katniss’s father started to teach her how to hunt (illegally) when she was five, so she has eleven years of experience by the time she’s taken to the Games. Hence her skill with a bow. They even trade with the “Peacekeepers,” the local police force. It’s agorism, or counter-economics, at its finest. Though a dystopian country, Panem, many find ways to circumvent the official rules in order provide a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Agorism is one among many themes that I’ve enjoyed in this series. And that’s today’s two cents.

Skyler.