Full Description
The book argues that modern capitalism has given way to Financialism, a new stage of political economy in which legal institutions, financial markets, and professional norms reorganize corporations, public institutions, and everyday life around the imperatives of finance.
It provides the first systematic account of Financialism as the organizing order of contemporary economic life. Drawing from legal history, corporate governance, and political economy, the book explains how law, financial markets, and professional practices have transformed the American corporation. It also demonstrates how these forces have extended financial discipline across labor markets, public institutions, and daily economic activity. The book traces how this transformation altered the temporal structure of economic decision-making and weakened the capacity of democratic institutions to govern society. Finally, it develops principles for post-Financialist capitalism and proposes institutional strategies to restore democratic authority. Central to this reconstruction is a theory of democratic time, a framework for reclaiming control over democratic decision-making from the accelerating demands of finance.
This book is essential reading for scholars, graduate students, and policymakers in corporate law, finance, political economy, corporate governance, and business history. It is also ideal for readers interested in how financial power reshapes democratic governance and the structure of everyday life.
Contents
Part 1: Financialism 1. The Creation of the Modern Corporation and the Rise and Transformation of Laissez-Faire 2. The Architecture of Financialism Part I: The External Structure 3. The Architecture of Financialism Part II: In the Belly of the Beast 4: Financialism Beyond Finance 5. The Impossibility of Fairness in a Financialized Society Part 2. The Globalization of Financialism 6: The Globalization of Financialism Part 3. Beyond Financialism 7. Approaching Reform: Throwing A Wrench in the Works 8. Principles for a New Capitalism 9. Democratic Time
