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Have We Passed Peak Capitalism?

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  • Fix, Blair

Abstract

This paper uses word frequency to track the rise and potential peak of capitalist ideology. Using a sample of mainstream economics textbooks as my corpus of capitalist thinking, I isolate the jargon of these books and then track its frequency over time in the Google English corpus. I also measure the popularity of feudal ideology by applying the same method to a sample of Christian bibles. I find that over the last four centuries, biblical language fell out of favor and was replaced by the language of economics. Surprisingly, however, I find that since the 1980s, the trend has reversed. Today, the language of economics is waning, while biblical language is on the rise. Is this evidence that we’ve passed the peak of capitalist ideology?

Suggested Citation

  • Fix, Blair, 2022. "Have We Passed Peak Capitalism?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue 102, pages 55-88.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:267775
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nitzan, Jonathan & Bichler, Shimshon, 2009. "Capital as Power. A Study of Order and Creorder," EconStor Books, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 157973.
    2. Fix, Blair, 2022. "Have We Passed Peak Capitalism?," EconStor Preprints 261301, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    capitalism; economics; ideology; language; religion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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