Abstract
The rise of socialism has been one of the more dramatic movements in US politics in the modern era, with recent Gallup polling indicating that 39 percent of Americans (and 65 percent of Democrats) hold a favorable view of the political economic ideology. Upward trends in the popularity of political economic ideologies such as socialism are observed when much of what is known by the public about them is gleaned through heuristic approaches rather than through scientific investigation. However, an increase in the persistence and severity of problems resulting from the practice of a political economic ideology such as socialism will likely lead to more science-based introspection, a turn in approach that will almost certainly be a boon to political and economic theories/models offering refutations of the ideology. This study explores such a demand-side argument with regard to the recent rise of socialism in US politics by asserting, and testing, the notion that the Austrian school of economics, which is most closely identified with the claim that socialism is unworkable, has been a beneficiary of recent political trends. Statistical evidence from various trends in informetrics is consistent with our assertion, as Google News hits and Twitter hashtag counts have ascended over the recent period (i.e., 2016 to 2019).
Highlights
The increase in support for socialism in US politics has been one of the more dramatic movements in the modern political era
Upward trends in the popularity of political economic ideologies such as socialism are more likely to be observed when much of what is known by the public about them is gleaned through heuristic approaches rather than through scientific investigation
The argument supported by the empirical analysis above—that the rise of socialism in US politics has led to an increase in the demand for Austrian economics—has intuitive appeal
Summary
The increase in support for socialism in US politics has been one of the more dramatic movements in the modern political era. This is compared to a post-2015 linear trend line, as indicated, the mean number of annual Google News hits for the more recent period is equal to 31, compared to a mean of only 2.7 for the earlier period These figures produce a difference of 28.3, which is consistent with the notion that the recent increase in public support for socialism in US politics has generated greater news (media) interest in the arguments against socialism made by economists in the Austrian school. These figures produce a difference of six, which is consistent with the notion that the recent increase in support for socialism in US politics has led to much greater news (media) interest in the arguments against socialism made by Friedrich Hayek. 34 A linear trend line for the post-2015 period indicates that Google Scholar citations fell by 205.3 citations per year over this period
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