Capitalism in Six Westerns by John Ford

Carlos Rodriguez Braun

The Journal of Economic Education, 2011, vol. 42, issue 2, 181-194

Abstract: The economic and institutional analysis of capitalism can be illustrated through John Ford's Westerns. This article focuses on six classics by Ford that show the move toward modern order, the creation of a new society, and the rule of law. Economic features are pervading, from property rights and contracts to markets, money, and trade. Ford has been depicted as a radical critic of capitalism, but his views prove to be more subtle, and they present the ingredients of capitalism in a prepolitical world, a world with private settlers aiming to build new communities in a hostile environment, frequently with no political institutions apart from the Army and where civil society-or pre--civil society-dominated.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1080/00220485.2011.555721

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