Necessity and contingence in capital\'s history: the case of share capital

Author(s)

Bruno Hofig

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2013-07-19

Examining board members

Jorge Luis da Silva Grespan; Paulo Eduardo Arantes; Eleuterio Fernando da Silva Prado

• Advisor: Jorge Luis da Silva Grespan

Abstract

Incapable of conceiving the unity of the value-form with the other forms of the capitalist mode of production, Political Economy cannot reveal the internal tendencies of the capitalist economy as such. Consequently, it cannot understand the historical developments of this kind of economic organization. This incapability gets particularly clear when one examines economic theories on share capital. Through the logical development of the forms of value, Marx overcame such limits of Political Economy. What he did not clarify however was how one should conceive the relation between the logical development of the forms of value and the historical development of capital as such. Based on the similarities between Marx\'s concept of capital and Hegel\'s concept of Absolute Spirit, we will test the hypothesis that the latest transformations of share capital can be understood as a result of its increasing conformation to its concept. We shall see that although it can help us understanding some features of these transformations, a hegelian interpretation of it is not fully consistent. That is why, after revealing the most important differences between the hegelian concept of absolute spirit and the marxian concept of capital, we shall try to comprehend how exactly the Critique of Political Economy can help us understanding historical changes in the capitalist mode of production, and particularly the latest historical developments of share capital. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/04820-4 - Incorporated companies and the loss of measures: stocks as a form of manifestation of capital´s self-denial
• Grantee: Bruno Höfig
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master