Finance hiccup: It’s all about capitalism.

TLDR:

The rise of finance is not a symptom of industrial decline, but a condition for industrial competitiveness. The interpenetration of financial and industrial capital highlights how problematic it is to see finance as a “deadweight” on capitalism. The article argues that financialization facilitated the movement of capital into and out of sectors, facilities, and countries, intensifying competitive disciplines to maximize returns across all investments.

The article challenges the widely held belief that finance has come at the expense of industry. Instead, it argues that finance and industry are interdependent, with financialization strengthening industrial capital. The concentration of ownership in asset management firms, such as BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, has created a fusion of financial and industrial capital known as “the new finance capital.” This ownership concentration has led to a novel form of control over industrial corporations, blurring the lines between ownership and control.