Finance Capital

<p>This is the first English translation of one of the classical works of Marxist economic theory. When Rudolf Hilferding’s <em>Finance Capital</em> was first published in 1919 it was acclaimed by reviewers as a continuation of Marx’s Capital, and it has a major influence upon subsequent Marxist thought, especially in the analysis of imperialism where it provided some of the fundamental ideas for the theories of Bukharin and Lenin.</p><p>But Hilferding’s work was much more than a study of imperialism, which was presented only in the last section of the book. It set out to examine the main tendencies in the development of the capitalist mode of production as a whole at the beginning of the twentieth century, beginning with an exposition of the theory of money (in which particular attention was paid to the growth of credit money), then analysing the increasingly important role of the banks in the mobilization of capital, along with the development of large corporations, cartels and trusts, and finally outlining a theory of economic crises.</p><p>Hilferding’s book has, however, more than an historical interest. It is a model for any renewed attempt to understand the ‘latest phase of capitalist development’ in the closing decades of the twentieth century, and Hilferdin’s ideas still provide essential elements for the elaboration of theoretically enlightened and realistic policies in the socialist movement. </p> <p>Note on the Translation Introduction to the Translation Preface <strong>Part 1: Money and Credit</strong> 1. The Necessity of Money 2. Money in the Circulation Process 3. Money as a Means of Payment - Credit Money 4. Money in the Circulation of Industrial Capital 5. The Banks and Industrial Credit 6. The Rate of Interest <strong>Part 2: The Mobilization of Capital - Fictitious Capital</strong> 7. The Joint-Stock Company 8. The Stock Exchange 9. The Commodity Exchange 10. Bank Capital and Bank Profit <strong>Part 3: Finance Capital and the Restriction of Free Competition</strong> 11. Surmounting the Obstacles to the Equalization of Rates of Profit 12. Cartels and Trusts 13. The Capitalist Monopolies and Commerce 14. The Capitalist Monopolies and the Banks - The Transformation of Capital into Finance Capita 15. Price Determination by the Capitalist Monopolies and the Historical Tendency of Finance Capital <strong>Part 4: Finance Capital and Crises</strong> 16. The General Conditions of Crises 17. The Causes of Crises 18. Credit Conditions in the Course of the Business Cycle 19. Money Capital and Productive Capital During the Depression 20. Changes in the Character of Crises - Cartels and Crises <strong>Part 5: The Economic Policy of Finance Capital</strong> 21. The Reorientation of Commercial Policy 22. The Export of Capital and the Struggle for Economic Territory 23. Finance Capital and Classes 24. The Conflict Over the Labour Contract 25. The Proletariat and Imperialism Notes Bibliography Appendices Index </p>