Keys to the analysis of contemporary capitalism

Abstract

The principle objective of this brief essay is to analyze the definition of finance capital as proposed by Hilferding and place it in it’s real dimension, thus contributing to the comprehension of this new form of capital, and therefore to the meaning of its development for the ulterior configuration of the capitalist system. The article maintains that the diverse approximations of the definition of the concept of finance capital in Hilferding’s work configure a panorama of interpretations within the various dimensions of the process of economic and political concentration that were characteristic of those times. This article sustains that the most revolutionary aspect of Hilferding’s theory is the discovery of the category of the “founder’s profit”, which is the profit – authentically a monopolic rent -, which is appropriated by finance capital, precisely due to the negotiation of fictitious capital. Finally, the article affirms that the founder’s profit has to be considered as one of the principle mechanisms to counterbalance the decreasing tendency of the general rate of profit in monopoly capitalism.