The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the two most looked up words in 2012 were “socialism” and “capitalism,” which is mostly due to the election, according to Merriam-Webster.
Peter Sokolowski, the editor at large, said that traffic for the two words doubled this year from 2011 when the health care debate heated up and users searched for the terms “American capitalism” and “European socialism.”
Some of the top 10 words included “democracy,” “globalization,” “marriage” and “bigot.” Last year’s word of the year was “austerity,” which was due to many nations around the world implementing austerity budgets.
“They’re words that sort of encapsulate the zeitgeist. They’re words that are in the national conversation,” said Sokolowski in an interview with the news organization. “The thing about an election year is it generates a huge amount of very specific interest.”
The entire article can be found here.
Too bad, though, that Merriam-Webster didn’t include pictures of capitalism and socialism. Indeed, capitalism would have had a photo of freedom and prosperity, while socialism would have definitely been featured with suffering and poverty.
Be sure to check out one of our blog posts highlighting a fantastic comparison between a capitalist state and a socialist country. Also, check out the video below.
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