Keywords : the new language of capitalism

Chronicles the rise of a new vocabulary in the twenty-first century. From Silicon Valley to the White House, from primary school to higher education, and from the factory floor to the church pulpit, we are all called to be innovators and entrepreneurs, to be curators of an ever-expanding roster of competencies. In a series of short essays on terms like 'entrepreneur,' 'sustainability,' 'artisanal' and 'synergy,' Leary uses the vocabulary of neoliberalism to discover the contemporary spirit of capitalism. Each entry chronicles the penetration of market logic into nearly every aspect of our everyday branded lives--even realms like church and summer camp that were once secure from the rat-race of market-driven competition. The new language of capitalism burnishes hierarchy, competition, and exploitation as 'leadership,' 'collaboration,' and 'sharing,' modeling for us the habits of the economically successful person: be visionary, be self-reliant, and never, ever stop working. --From publisher description