Finanzkapital in the twenty-first century

Purpose ‐ Drawing inspiration from the 1910 book Finanzkapital by Rudolf Hilferding, this paper seeks to explore the nature of financial capital in the early twenty-first century from a political-economic and culture theory perspective. It aims to offer suggestions for transcending the crises-prone contemporary economic systems. Design/methodology/approach ‐ The paper reconceptualises the notions of Finanzkapital in the contemporary context, drawing selective evidence from current and twentieth century economic and business history. Findings ‐ The nature of contemporaneous Finanzkapital is elaborated by presenting seven "theses" that probe the nature of Finanzkapital prior to, during, and after the Great Recession of 2007-9. Originality/value ‐ Through succinct articulation of the major characteristics of contemporary Finanzkapital, the paper suggests some ways to resist and transcend politico-economic and business systems based on massive but quicksand-like foundations of financial capital.