Fictitious Capital: How Finance Is Appropriating Our FutureHow finance is a mechanism of social and political domination The 2007–08 credit crisis and the long recession that followed brutally exposed the economic and social costs of financialization. Understanding what lay behind these events, the rise of “fictitious capital” and its opaque logic, is crucial to grasping the social and political conditions under which we live. Yet, for most people, the operations of the financial system remain shrouded in mystery. In this lucid and compelling book, economist Cédric Durand offers a concise and critical introduction to the world of finance, unveiling the truth behind the credit crunch. Fictitious Capital moves beyond moralizing tales about greedy bankers, short-sighted experts and compromised regulators to look at the big picture. Using comparative data covering the last four decades, Durand examines the relationship between trends such as the rise in private and public debt and the proliferation of financial products; norms such as our habitual assumptions about the production of value and financial stability; and the relationship of all this to political power. Fictitious Capital offers a stark warning about the direction that the international economy is taking. Durand argues that the accelerated expansion of financial operations is a sign of the declining power of the economies of the Global North. The City, Wall Street and other centres of the power of money, he suggests, may already be caked with the frosts of winter. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - stillatim - LibraryThingInelegant, but short and fairly balanced--not many economists would trace the idea of fictitious capital back to Marx and Hayek. Very solid statistical work shows the increasing prevalence of broadly ... Read full review
Fictitious Capital: How Finance Is Appropriating Our Future
User Review - Publishers WeeklyRadical scholar Durand’s first book investigates the terrifying, amoral nature of finance and its untenable role in contemporary neoliberal society. His primary argument involves a critique of ... Read full review
Contents
Financial Instability | 19 |
The Genealogy of a Concept | 41 |
The Contemporary Rise of Fictitious Capital | 59 |
Financial Accumulation | 81 |
Finance in Service of the Metamorphoses of Capital | 109 |
Epilogue | 151 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
accumulation activities actors agents allows assets associated banks become bonds capitalist cent cent of GDP cent of gross central companies concerned considerable context contributed corporations correspond costs countries crisis debt decline derivatives dividends dynamic economic effect exchange fact fall fictitious capital Figure financial markets financial profits financialisation firms flows forms France funds future gains Germany given global gross operating growth hand households idea important income increase industrial institutions interest investment Japan labour leads less limited linked liquidity loans managers Marx means monetary non-financial firms operating payments period play policies political possible problem production profits question rates relations relative result returns rich rise risks role sector securities share shareholders shows social Source speculation tion trade transformation turn United valorisation weight
Bibliographic information
| Title | Fictitious Capital: How Finance Is Appropriating Our Future |
| Author | Cédric Durand |
| Translated by | David Broder |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Verso Books, 2017 |
| ISBN | 1784787191, 9781784787196 |
| Length | 176 pages |
| Subjects | › › Business & Economics / Economics / Theory Political Science / Political Economy Political Science / Public Policy / Economic Policy |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |