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Financism The Supreme Stage of Development of Capitalism 23
Financism The Supreme Stage of Development of Capitalism 23
ALEKSANDR DUGIN
“Poljarnaja Zvezda”, 06.04.2000
Translation by Martino Conserva
In its analysis there are no adfirmed classics, although many authors have cast
a deep-searching look upon this phenomenon. The task of understanding
"financism" is ours, whether we like it or not.
Even to move the first steps in the direction of a consistent overview of this
theme, we have to consider the whole history of the economic paradigm, and
individuate there the place of "financism"- not just from the point of view of
quantitative chronology, but from the point of view of the qualitative relevance of
this phenomenon in the general development of economic models.
And yet, even here, at the zero-stage of formulating the problem, we come
across an element of uncertainty undermining the frame of the analyisis. Is
there really one and one only history of economics? Such a history did exist
indeed, but in two (or three?) alternative versions. There is an acknowledged
history of economics from the Liberal position (capitalism as the expression of
the modern and most progressive paradigm in economics), as well as from the
Marxist position (socialism and the overcoming of capitalism as the expression
of the modern and most progressive paradigm in economics). And further, there
existed one third orientation (i.e. economic "heterodoxy"), which absolutely
declined to evaluate the economic paradigm according to this rough formula
(progressive - unprogressive), as the classical economists used to do. But this
"third way" economic school (a report on which I made in the "Economic-
Philosophical Collection") remained marginal, in spite of the presence of first
class economists and philosophers in its ranks.
The events of the last decade have shown a clear-cut success of the historical
trend of Liberal economics. And precisely in the context of Liberal economical
and philosophical thought the first theorizations on post-industrial society were
born. Socialist thought remained instead completely within the borders of the
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industrial paradigm, and the dramatic fall of the Soviet system introduces
unmistakeable accents in the story of this scholarly disputation.
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From all these aspects, the Liberal model successfully defeated the Marxist
threat.
Apart from the position of tactical advantage, we are confronted here with a
most relevant conceptual conclusion. I can understand people sharing a certain
set of weltanschauungen will hardly accept this conclusion - and even the
thought of such generalization might be disturbing to some. Nevertheless, a
large number of factors is driving us to think that the Liberal paradigm - that is,
specifically, consistent Capitalism - is just the economic paradigm which
incarnates in itself the true spirit of modern world. Liberal-capitalism, more than
socialism (and of "third-way" economic models), proved to be the most up-to-
date economic regime
Being such the state of things, it would be wrong to decipher a posteriori the
Socialist systems as proving less adequate, while sticking to the modern
economic paradigm. Everything is much more complex: the anti-capitalist
orientation and the philosophical premise, lying just at the roots of the socialist
economic model, appear as a species of anti-modern tendencies relative to
economy - but not only relative to it. It is not a blind alley, but the last fight
(though veiled and externally stylizeded according to the look of "modernism")
of the anti-modern paradigm of a weltanschauung which finds expression in
economic theory and praxis (see A.Dugin, "The Paradigm of the End",
Elementy n.9).
Nowadays the socialist position is not worth a dime: not only Marx's predictions
about the transition of the industrialized West to socialism proved to be true only
in the Eastern agrarian-asiatic mode of production; even the last Marxist
argument was beaten - the fact of the existence of Marxism (of the winnning,
realized Marxism - although in a voluntaryist, blanquist-leninist way) in many
areas of the world.
How to conclude - from this starting point - that socialism itself represents a
more "progressive" phenomenon? How to signify that the real course of world
history (the infamous historical necessity) runs precisely in its direction? It is
impossibile. A fact emerges, more and more clear: that socialism has been the
outcome of a resolute general effort - not a product of the objective course of
histoty, but precisely of the insurgency against this objective course - the effect
of an heroic insurrection and of moral deed of heroism, in which the maximum
of tension tied up both the revolutionary élite and the national mass.
In this frame, the geographical and cultural peculiarity of the countries where
socialism succedeed does not appear anymore as a random element, but as an
important though not determinant factor. Geopolitics does correct economic
policy (see A.Dugin, "The Paradigm of the End ", cit..).
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In this way, Liberalism has the qualities to analyze "financism" according to its
own peculiar perspective. The movement towards a purely financial economy
will be in this view the movement towards a more modern and "progressive"
stage. Since capitalism itelf is regarded as modern and "progressive", so much
modern and "progressive" will be financism.
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the progress of alienation. First the alienation of the product of labour from
producers, then the alienation of the whole sphere of production into the system
of banking credit, finally the translation of the whole economy into the mode of
virtual financial speculation.
Financism is the crown of capitalist logic and represents in itself the last, highest
stage of alienation.
The happy turn ("right democracy" in Rousseau, "Prussian State " in Hegel,
"World Revolution " in Marx) happens notwithstanding the inertia of history.
So the "end of the world" (this ontologically positive event, according to
Christians) follows the era of the anti-christ. And the coming of the anti-christ is
detected as the unmistakeable sign of the approaching Second Coming. But of
course, this does not mean that the certain announcement of the Second
Coming getting near can reach also the "prince of this world". There is only one
good thing in the climax of alienation - once this lethal process has reached its
limits, it shall be eradicated by the punishing right hand of the transcendental
principle.
5. Financial economy and the dialectics of evil
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about the economy, but also to all economic models which are non-modern,
anti-modern, based upon the "heroical" (according to Werner Sombart's
definition) impulse to overcome the evil course of contemporary world.
"Financism" is not a question of mechanical deviation from the economic
paradigm of capitalism; it is a normal stage of its development - the stage of its
world-wide triumph.
It is stupid and irresponsible to complain about the fact that the mass of
financial speculation on the world stock markets by far exceeds the budgets of
developed countries, or that fictitious transfers of capital through computer nets
undermine the development of material productive sectors, shifting investments
to the sphere of a virtual economy. Alienation of finance from the productive
sphere, virtualization of the economic substance are the normal final chord of
capitalist development.
6. The indemonstrable imperative of revolution
We can fully agree with all extremely catastrophist prognoses being made by
impartial analysts about the ethical significance of these trends. As a matter of
fact, increasing the virtual economy to the prejudice of the real sectors of
production inevitably leads to economic disaster. The informational element in
post-modern societies aims to definitively substitute reality, by replacing it with
its illusory but still powerful operating system. This will prove lethal, at a certain
point.
And yet - according to the traditionalist views of society (and to other non-liberal
and illiberal doctrines) - this is the absolute logic of every immanent process, in
which a transcendent principle either does not intervene, or can not intervene, if
it does not want to. Capital (as the utmost alienation, as a total reduction to the
materialist quantitative principle) has been struggling for a very long time to
become the one and only subject of human history. And it made it with
"financism". As a representation, he obtained a much easier victory than in its
original form. Virtual, fictitious economy puts the principle itself of reality under
exploitation - just as it puts under exploitation the reality of economy and its
onthology (though this ontology cannot be independent, it necessarily stems
from the more general supra-economic metaphisycal and social form).
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Gods" (M. Heidegger), upon the "death and assassination of God" (F.
Nietzsche), upon "exploitation" (K. Marx).
Anti-financism is but the most exterior level of the deepest and most radical
struggle against capitalism and liberalism, the necessity of which does not
spring out of pragmatic interests, but from the depth of the dignity of the human
subject as a species - a subject who, even into the abyss of being forsaken by
God, rejects any reconciliation with the blood-stained world, and stands up for a
higher ontology, for a new sacrality, for justice and brotherhood, for freedom
and equality.