Mcnulty picks up a copy of adam smiths the wealth of nations. Why are professors at harvard, duke, and middlebury. Stringer bells name is a composite of two real baltimore drug lords, stringer reed and roland bell. Russell stringer bell is a fictional character on the hbo drama the wire, played by british actor idris elba. Trumps inner circle keeps violating the stringer bell rule. Aug 29, 20 a good rule of thumb for bankers is to not break the law.
While most are playing the game for respect and honor, stringer is playing for money and ultimately to be a legitimate bourgeois outside the game. Stringer bells guide to running a business on the wire. As shown in the clip above, stringer bell explains to his workers the significance of having an elastic product. You see, basically everyone is fraudulent, whether they play in the realm of power and politics or whether they are in the streets. The single most objectionable thing about stringer bell was the nauseating, condescending tone he took with the people that worked with and for him. Aug 25, 2008 one of the drug dealers stringer bell even takes economic classes at a local community college, in one scene he asks his econ prof about maximizing profits when selling an inferior product. One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is mcnulty following stringer to the baltimore.
In season 3, prop joe and stringer bell decide that rather than fighting each other, all the dealers in baltimore should collaborate and form a coop. For example, governments can nudge citizens by implementing policies that enroll participants in programs such as automatic retirement savings programs as a default, rather than merely making it an attractive option for people to sign up for some benefit. Russell stringer bell is a fictional character in the wire, played by idris elba. He oversees the daytoday operations, effectively making him the more active, more visible piece of the stringer avon partnership. Stringer bell presents his paper economics job market rumors. He had the intelligence to take classes in economics, ill give him that, elba says of stringer. Idris elba announces multi book deal with harpercollins childrens books. In david simons the wire hbo, 20022008, stereotypes play a crucial role in. Jackson specifically, his crossover from the illegal drug trade to legitimate business ownership and political contributions. Despite or perhaps because of his education, he fails to see the true nature of the system that confronts him. Jul 22, 2015 stringer bell excise the drug references and this is a pretty onesizefitsall statement about any indemand product. The wire features characters who think as economists predict, and others who, under similar circumstances, behave as sociologists or anthropologists describe.
His story bears many similarities to the life of kenneth a. Frederic lordon has published four books since capitalisme. Jan 09, 2008 stringer bell, the moneyman for the barksdale drug gang in season one, is taking a microeconomics course during season one. Oct 19, 2020 jim halpert and stringer bell are two of the most famous secondincommands in tv history, though it took jim a little while longer to rise up the ranks. Stringer bell s name is a composite of two real baltimore drug lords, stringer reed and roland bell. Jan 18, 2021 economist and author gary shiffman of georgetown university talks about his book, the economics of violence, with econtalk host russ roberts. Stringer bell, the enterprising drug kingpin on hbos the wire, almost makes the business of narcotics seem like high finance. The clash of aristocratic and bourgeois virtues in. Nbcs cop show homicide based on simons book homicide. Nov 05, 20 his virtues and vices are quintessentially aristocratic and as such in conflict with those of his queen, stringer bell. Stringer is often presented as the character most enamored of the legitimate world of business, taking economics classes at community college and applying.
One of the things i love about the wire, and you may find this surprising, considering this is an economics blog, is all the economic theory and. Jim wanting to move beyond the world of selling paper, and stringer wanting to be something more legitimate and. Its the police department, or the drug economy, or the political. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on youtube. News and discussion about economics, from the perspective of economists. Stringer s name is a composite of two real baltimore drug lords, stringer reed and roland bell.
They stop killing each other, attract less attention from the police, and profits go up. He may be a former sexiest man alive, but never forget that idris elba is for the children. For those who are unfamiliar with the depth of my obsessive dissection of both the hbo series and economic models for eproduct, well, welcome to wonderland. Stringer played by idris elba is avon barksdales secondincommand, closest friend, and the main strategist behind coordinating their street dealing organization which he does as the main contact for all business. The photocopy store is used to launder illegal drugs money. The clash of aristocratic and bourgeois virtues in the.
Sep 20, 2006 stringer bell was a genius who should have run a fortune 500 company, but instead was trapped inside the twisted mind of a coldhearted killer who himself was killed at the conclusion of season 3. Maurice levy, bell s lawyer, concludes that davis has rain made bell. Over the years many students and faculty colleagues have asked for more of these extracts. Bell serves as drug kingpin avon barksdales secondincommand and assumes. Why i despise stringer bell bomani jones tv host sports.
Stringer learning about elastic and inelastic product at his econ class. In my teaching i often draw on economics and strategy examples from the television drama series the wire, in particular the character stringer bell. The wires stringer bell is cold blood personified, the spiritual descendant of michael corleone and the godfather line its not personal its strictly bu. It is story that ends tragically as well, while stringer bell is able to accumulate. Feb, 2017 when they go into his apartment after hes murdered, they find books on political theory, economics and even some literary works. In installment 47, stringer bell recognises elasticity of demand. Russell stringer bell, baltimore city community college.
Stringer attends economic lectures, and seeks to apply them to the drug business. Based on his home its easy to think of stringer bell as a tenured professor at johns hopkins rather than someone who sells drugs for a living. Product elasticities explained by the wire bliss points. May 16, 2018 stringer bell, the enterprising drug kingpin on hbos the wire, almost makes the business of narcotics seem like high finance. Bell attends economics classes at baltimore city community college and maintains a personal library, including a copy of adam smiths the. In many ways, the wire is a marxists idea of what tv drama should be stylish. Harpercollins certainly hasnt missed the memo, announcing on monday that the golden globe and. I am now reading the new core online textbook, before turning to the new generation of. The wires stringer bell has some advice for jpmorgan. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. But, since a lot of them just cant seem to abide by that rule, perhaps a better one to follow to paraphrase the wires businesssavvy drug pusher russell stringer bell is to not put it down in writing. Oct 14, 2010 stringer bell, played by the africanbritish actor idris elba, is the enigmatic gatsby figure, yearning for legitimacy, sporting wirerimmed glasses, and attending economics classes at the local community college. Jun 02, 2014 to paraphrase the wires stringer bell. Russell stringer bell was the secondincommand to drug kingpinavon.
Clearly, stringer s economics classes were working for him early on. Instead he found himself defrauded and outmatched at a game just as ugly as the one he was used to. Casanovas gang was taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. Prop joe sells the best product, and stringer sells to a huge number of people in the towers. Confronted to wars over turfs, to the decreasing quality of their product, and, at the beginning of season 3, to. Ultimately however, stringer bell is felled by hubris. Gary shiffman on the economics of violence econlib.
Based on his home its easy to think of stringer bell as a tenured professor at. Aug 10, 2017 while attending community college, stringer bell enrolls in an economics course and tries to apply the concepts of elasticity to his copying business. Stringer bell nudges, according to sunsteins conception, are like incentives on steroids. May 05, 2009 bell had aspirations to leave the dealing behind and become a legitimate property developer. Mar 24, 2010 simon has said that wilsons book when work disappears.
They shared the ambition of wanting to be something more than what they were. The wire stringer bell learns the basics of macroeconomics. Together, stringer and avon operate out of a strip club where. Bell served as drug kingpin avon barksdales secondincommand, assuming direct control of the barksdale organization during avons imprisonment. Check out our shop on discogs, the biggest online music marketplace in the world, and add some gems to your collection. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Consequently he is conned out of millions of dollars by the corrupt state senator, clay davis. The show evens deals with ideas of game theory and collusion when drug dealers band together to monopolize the market.
Stringer bell thought that the legitimate world played by the rules. Aug 02, 2007 he spent a year following baltimore homicide detectives for his 1991 book, homicide. When they go into his apartment after hes murdered, they find books on political theory, economics and even some literary works. Why do so many people mention the wire in their online dating profiles. Russell stringer bell is the secondary antagonist of the first season of the hbo series the wire, later serving as a major antagonist of season 2, and the main antagonist of season 3. In the third season, the drug gangs heroin product is less robust, and the junkies start buying from the competition and business suffers. He spent another year hanging out on one of the citys drug corners for a 1997 book, the corner.
One of the most powerful drug gangs, the barksdale organization, is led by avon barksdale with the help of stringer bell. Sometimes their behaviors rely on economic motives, sometimes other interests or emotions win over. Jan 25, 2019 trumps inner circle keeps violating the stringer bell rule roger stone is the latest of the presidents associates to ignore the most important rule in a conspiracy. Apr 03, 2008 all those who know me will surely not be surprised that i have managed to incorporate stringer bell into my personal analysis of ebays recent decision to stop selling ebooks in auction. The wire s stringer bell idris elba was a ruthless drug kingpin who snatched lives when he had to, ordered the torture of a. And it quickly appeared that hbos the wire s fictional yet realistic depiction of. The lessons of stringer bell columns detroit detroit. He also attended community college to better understand business and economics and to apply them to the drug trade. Why are professors at harvard, duke, and middlebury teaching.
In one episode, he gives an invaluable lesson in inelastic demand to one of his drug dealers, who informs him about client complaints regarding the current batch of drugs. Shiffman argues that we should view terrorism, insurgency, and crime as being less about ideology and more about personal expression and entrepreneurship. Stringer also acts as the bankroll behind avons operations. Dangelo counters a remarkably candid view of economic relationships in the. Bell serves as drug kingpin avon barksdales secondincommand and assumes direct control of the barksdale organization during avons im. Nowhere is this tension between the game the drug trade and the larger world of capitalism illustrated with greater clarity than in the life and death of russell stringer bell.
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