The Ritual of Capitalization

The Ritual of Capitalization
Fix, Blair. (2021). Economics from the Top Down. 2 June. (Article - Magazine; English).

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Abstract or Brief Description

There’s something mysterious about finance. The symbols are arcane. The math is complex. The practitioners are impressively educated. And the stakes are high. All of this gives finance the veneer of higher truth — as if quants are uncovering a reality not accessible to the rest of us. In a sense they are. But the ‘reality’ is not what you think.

When you look at stock-market numbers, they do point to a truth about the world. But it is a truth not about natural law or of human nature. It is a truth about human ideology. The reality is that finance is a quantitative belief system. At its center is a universal ritual — the ritual of capitalization. It is this ritual that underlies all stock-market numbers.

In this post, we’ll look at the regularities that stem from the ritual of capitalization. They are astonishing in scope — a breathtaking consistency to human behavior. They beg the mind to look for some material basis for their existence. But that is a mistake. The reality is that the regularities of capitalization are an artifact of ideas — a manifestation of capitalist ideology itself. A regularity from ritual.

Language

English

Publication Type

Article - Magazine

Keywords

capitalization capital as power

Subject

BN Methodology
BN Money & Finance
BN Region - North America
BN Value & Price
BN Business Enterprise
BN Capital & Accumulation
BN Distribution
BN Ideology
BN Institutions

Depositing User

Jonathan Nitzan

Date Deposited

02 Jun 2021 19:38

Last Modified

02 Jun 2021 19:38

URL:

https://bnarchives.net/id/eprint/692

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