The Financialisation Hypothesis and Marxism: a Positive Contribution or a Trojan Horse? – COUNTERPUNCH May 2018
May 11, 2018
The Financialisation Hypothesis and Marxism: a Positive Contribution or a Trojan Horse?
Introduction
The Financialisation Hypothesis (FH) is a popular argument in contemporary Heterodox Economics, Marxist Political Economy but also in Mainstream Economics. Its basic thesis is that modern capitalism has undergone a radical transformation during the last three decades. The financial system, through a series of innovative mechanisms, has conquered capitalism’s commanding heights, became independent from productive capital and has transformed the whole system according to its own prerogatives. This new financialized (or financial or finance-dominated or fiduciary) capitalism operates completely different from traditional capitalism.
The FH proposes four stylised facts as its factual basis:
+ The increased weight of the financial sector in contemporary advanced capitalist economies (share in GDP, profits, new complex financial instruments).
+ Corporate sector’s recent trend to finance itself through retained…
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