In two new books, Chris Hughes, an economic historian, and John Cassidy, longtime economics columnist for The New Yorker, aim to explain “the economy.” Hughes and Cassidy don’t use formulas or algorithms. They do not speak in the language of equilibria or tax rates. Instead, they are portraitists. Between them, Hughes and Cassidy tell the stories of scores of people wrestling with a capitalist economy, trying to mold it at human scale.