Financialization and financial profit

Abstract

This article starts from the critical review of the concept of financial capital. I consider it is necessary not to confuse this category with of financialization, which has acquired a certificate of naturalization from the rise of neoliberalism. Although financial monopoly-financial capital is the hegemonic segment of the bourgeoisie in the major capitalist countries, their dominance does not imply, a fortiori, financialization of economic activity, since it depends of the conditions of the process reproduction of capital. The emergence of joint stock companies modified the formation of the average rate of profit. The "promoter profit" becomes one of the main forms of income of monopoly-financial capital. It is postulated that financial profit is a kind of "extraordinary surplus-value" which is appropriated by monopoly-financial capital by means of the monopolistic control it exerts on the issue and circulation of fictitious capital.

Debates sobre la financiarización en la tradición marxista: de los clásicos a los contemporáneos

“…Por otra parte, saliéndonos un poco del panorama anglosajón, podemos encontrar a Guillén [2014Guillén [ , 2015Guillén [ y 2021. Economista inspirado en las ideas de De Bernis, pero que ha centrado su atención en el problema de la financiarización a través de los planteamiento de Marx, de Hilferding y de Chesnais.…”

“…Para Guillén [2014Guillén [ y 2015, a diferencia de los autores tratados hasta el momento, el proceso de financiarización no es algo nuevo. Pues el capital financiero ya ha exhibido su poderío, tanto económico como político, en etapas previas dentro de la historia del capitalismo.…”

“…Incluso, el autor sostiene la existencia de una relación intrínseca entre el estancamiento económico de la crisis de los sesenta y la propia financiarización. 23 Enunciadas algunas de las características de este nuevo régimen de acumulación, Guillén [2014Guillén [ y 2015 reconoce los aportes de Epstein [2005] y de Palley [2007]en cuanto a la definición de financiarización. Sin embargo, al centrarse demasiado en lo financiero los considera limitados y con imprecisiones.…”

Financialization Hypothesis: A Theoretical and Empirical Critique

“…Second, they rely heavily on Minsky's Financial Instability Hypothesis, which divorces the financial system from real accumulation; an issue rightfully criticized by the Marxist tradition. Guillen (2014) offers a more thoughtful version by arguing that as capitalism passes from different stages its three generic fractions (productive-, money-, and merchant-capital) change. In monopoly capitalism, their differences (and the differences between the types of profit they receive) are blurred.…”

Financialization and Militarization: An Empirical Investigation

“…Although credit helps to boost trade, its effect is limited because when the rate of exploitation of labor begins to decline, credits cannot be repaid. Against this background, some have analyzed financialization as a counteracting factor to the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, along with other counteracting factors originally noted by Marx and Engels (Giacché 2011; Guillén 2014; Mavroudeas and Papadatos 2018; Ramirez 2019; Di Bucchianico 2020a).…”