Here are my most popular posts of 2022. Thanks for reading!

Blair Fix

And just like that, another year is over. I'll remember 2022 as the year
I unwittingly stepped into the world of pop psychology.

My [post on the Dunning-Kruger
effect](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2022/04/08/the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-autocorrelation/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} was meant as a humorous aside from my main work in
political economy. Instead, that piece became my most-read post ever ---
pretty much dwarfing everything else I wrote in 2022. It's an
interesting demonstration of what drives attention on the internet.

In case you missed them, here are my other top posts of 2022:

1.  [The Dunning-Kruger Effect is
    Autocorrelation](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2022/04/08/the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-autocorrelation/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
2.  [A Case Study of Fossil-Fuel
    Depletion](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2022/02/10/a-case-study-of-fossil-fuel-depletion/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
3.  [Have We Passed Peak
    Capitalism?](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2022/07/12/have-we-passed-peak-capitalism/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
4.  [Weird Consilience: A Review of Joseph Henrich's 'The WEIRDest
    People in the
    World'](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2022/05/20/weird-consilience-a-review-of-joseph-henrichs-the-weirdest-people-in-the-world/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
5.  [The Voldemort
    Index](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2022/03/30/the-voldemort-index/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}

Thanks for reading this year. And a big thanks to my
[supporters](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/supporters/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} for helping fund my research. I've got lots of material
in the pipelines for 2023, so stay tuned.

\[Cover image: [Wikimedia
Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bratislava_New_Year_Fireworks.jpg){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}\]

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(Blair Fix) and link to [Economics from the Top
Down](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/).

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And just like that, another year is over. I’ll remember 2022 as the year I unwittingly stepped into the world of pop psychology. My post on the Dunning-Kruger effect was meant as a humorous aside from my main work in political economy. Instead, that piece became my most-read post ever — pretty much dwarfing everything else I wrote in 2022. It’s an interesting demonstration of what drives attention on the internet.

Top 5 Posts of 2022

Here are the 10 most-read posts of the year.

Well folks, another year has come to a close. Like 2020, I spent most of
2021 hunkered down in front of my computer doing research, trying to
forget the craziness of the outside world. The result was over 150,000
words spilled on this blog.

Before I get to the top posts of the year, I thought I'd briefly discuss
my writing process. Since I started this blog, the trend has been for me
to write more long-form content. In 2019, my posts averaged 2,200 words
each. By 2020, that was up to 2,900 words. This past year, the average
post was 3,700 words --- the length of a short scientific paper.

While I admire writers like [Cory
Doctorow](https://pluralistic.net/){target="_blank" rel="noopener"} who
are able to pump out rapid-fire commentary, that's not me. I think
slowly (at least when thinking in words). I am also not a natural
writer.

Noam Chomsky claims to have an incessant stream of words running through
his head. And based on his prolific writing, I don't doubt him. But my
brain rarely contains words. Instead, it mostly contains pictures. For
that reason, the majority of my posts are written around charts. I make
the figures first, usually quickly and with great enjoyment. Then I
start what is for me the more difficult task: explaining to other people
what I have done.

I've been told that I am good at explaining complicated analysis. And if
that is true, it may be because I am not a fast writer. It's rare for me
to see the path from A to B the first time through. Usually the writing
path emerges only after many failed attempts have been eliminated.

Case in point was this year's most popular post, ['The Truth About
Inflation'](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/11/24/the-truth-about-inflation/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. As usual, I did the analysis quickly based on pictures
that popped in my head. But the commentary came together only after much
trial and error. Fortunately, the result seems to have struck a chord.

And speaking of chord striking, I am always surprised about which posts
are popular and which posts are duds. Here were the 10 most-read posts
of 2021:

1.  [The Truth About
    Inflation](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/11/24/the-truth-about-inflation/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
2.  [The Rise of Human Capital
    Theory](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/01/14/the-rise-of-human-capital-theory/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
3.  [The Deep History of Human
    Inequality](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/04/16/the-deep-history-of-human-inequality/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
4.  [Radically Progressive Degrowth: Reducing Resource Use by
    Eliminating
    Inequality](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/02/26/radically-progressive-degrowth-reducing-resource-use-by-eliminating-inequality/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
5.  [How the Labor Theory of Value Emerges from
    Egalitarianism](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/09/11/how-the-labor-theory-of-value-emerges-from-egalitarianism/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
6.  [The Ritual of
    Capitalization](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/06/02/the-ritual-of-capitalization/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
7.  [Free Speech For Me, Not
    You](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/05/06/free-speech-for-me-not-you/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
8.  [Living the Good Life in a Non-Growth World: Investigating the Role
    of Hierarchy (Part
    2)](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/02/09/living-the-good-life-in-a-non-growth-world-investigating-the-role-of-hierarchy-part-2/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
9.  [The Half Life of a Spotify
    Hit](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/06/18/the-half-life-of-a-spotify-hit/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
10. [Living the good life in a non-growth world: Investigating the role
    of
    hierarchy](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2021/01/05/living-the-good-life-in-a-non-growth-world-investigating-the-role-of-hierarchy/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}

Thanks for reading Economics from the Top Down this year. I have loads
of content planned for 2022. (Many of the charts are already made, and
are waiting for me to start the slow task of explaining them.)

Thank-you also to my
[patrons](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/supporters/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. Your generosity shows that paywalls are not the only
way to earn a living.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

#### Support this blog

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a better economics. If you liked this post, consider becoming a patron.
You'll help me continue my research, and continue to share it with
readers like you.

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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You can use/share it anyway you want, provided you attribute it to me
(Blair Fix) and link to [Economics from the Top
Down](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/).

------------------------------------------------------------------------


Well folks, another year has come to a close. Like 2020, I spent most of 2021 hunkered down in front of my computer doing research, trying to forget the craziness of the outside world. The result was over 150,000 words spilled on this blog. Before I get to the top posts of the year, I thought I’d briefly discuss my writing process. Since I started this blog, the trend has been for me to write more long-form content.

Top 10 Posts of 2021

Economics from the Top Down is 1 year old

Today is the [one year
anniversary](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2019/04/11/economics-from-the-top-down/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} of *Economics from the Top Down*. To mark the occasion,
I though I'd share with you the 5 most-viewed posts of the last year:

**Top 5 Posts**

1.  [No, Productivity Does Not Explain
    Income](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2019/07/08/no-productivity-does-not-explain-income/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
2.  [Productivity Does Not Explain
    Wages](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2019/11/14/productivity-does-not-explain-wages/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
3.  [Debunking the 'Productivity-Pay
    Gap'](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2020/01/17/debunking-the-productivity-pay-gap/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
4.  [An Evolutionary Theory of Resource Distribution (Part
    1)](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2019/09/06/an-evolutionary-theory-of-resource-distribution-part-1/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}
5.  [Real GDP: The Flawed Metric at the Heart of
    Macroeconomics](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2019/04/29/real-gdp-the-flawed-metric-at-the-heart-of-macroeconomics/){target="_blank"
    rel="noopener"}

You'll notice that these posts have a common theme: they're all about
*productivity*. More specifically, they're about why productivity has
nothing to do with *income* (either for individuals or for whole
nations).

It seems that readers of this blog are thirsty for alternatives to the
neoclassical theory of income. And for good reason. The idea that income
stems from productivity is one of the defining ideologies of our time.
We worship at the altar of productivity, largely to the benefit of the
wealthy and powerful.

The other thing I notice about these top 5 posts is that they're
primarily criticisms. They critique neoclassical theory, but don't
necessarily provide alternatives. (The exception is [An Evolutionary
Theory of Resource
Distribution](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2019/09/06/an-evolutionary-theory-of-resource-distribution-part-1/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}.) Criticism is important, of course. But going forward,
I'm going to focus on developing alternatives to neoclassical theory.
The reality is that old theories die only when better options comes
along.

### Thank you

Over the last year, the response to this blog has exceeded my
expectations. I was used to writing scientific papers read by a few
hundred people. Imagine my surprise when readership of this blog topped
that value by several orders of magnitude.

More and more I see *Economics from the Top Down* as my primary research
outlet. Of course I continue to publish scientific papers. But what I
enjoy most is communicating my findings to a general audience.

Looking ahead, I have many projects on the docket. One that stands out
is something that, in the blogging world, may seem heretical. I'm going
to try to explain, in simple terms, a complex model that I developed in
my [PhD thesis](https://thesiscommons.org/7uqw9/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}.

The model is about how income relates to hierarchy. It took me years to
develop, and it's something that I struggle to explain even to other
scientists. I've had many a peer reviewer misunderstand the model. So
one of my goals, in the next year, is to explain this model to
non-specialists. Time will tell if I'm successful.

If you're a regular reader, thanks for being part of this adventure. (If
you really enjoy my writing, consider [becoming a
patron](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/membership/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}.) If you're a new reader, welcome. There's lots more to
come.

\[Cover image: [Phil
Varney](https://www.flickr.com/photos/84225480@N05/15136415434/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}\]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

#### Support this blog

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You'll help me continue my research, and continue to share it with
readers like you.

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recalc-dims="1"}](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/){rel="license"}  
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/){rel="license"}.
You can use/share it anyway you want, provided you attribute it to me
(Blair Fix) and link to [Economics from the Top
Down](https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/).

------------------------------------------------------------------------


Today is the one year anniversary of
<em>
 Economics from the Top Down
</em>
. To mark the occasion, I though I’d share with you the 5 most-viewed posts of the last year:
<strong>
 Top 5 Posts
</strong>
No, Productivity Does Not Explain Income Productivity Does Not Explain Wages Debunking the ‘Productivity-Pay Gap’ An Evolutionary Theory of Resource Distribution (Part 1) Real GDP: The Flawed Metric at the Heart of Macroeconomics  You’ll notice that

Messaggi di Rogue Scholar

Top 5 Posts of 2022

Top 10 Posts of 2021

One Year of Blogging