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Free keywords:
expectations, fictions, social structures, future, capitalism, uncertainty, imagination, story;
Erwartungen, Fiktionen, soziale Strukturen, Zukunft, Kapitalismus, Ungewissheit, Imagination, Geschichten
Abstract:
Expectations play a crucial role in capitalist economies. Where do the
expectations on which actors base their decisions come from? The paper approaches
this question by discussing seven social factors that shape expectations:
Institutions, social position, social networks, calculative tools, cultural
structures, reflexivity, and protention. Following this discussion, the last part of
the paper looks at the role of social power and the mass media in the diffusion
of expectations.