Financialism Against Democracy

Markets, Time, and the Collapse of Democratic Judgment
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-28325-6
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 180 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 490 g

This 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 social life. Drawing from legal history, corporate governance, and political economy, this 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. This 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 an 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.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Professional Reference

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mitchell, Ezra Wasserman

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Unternehmensorganisation, Corporate Responsibility Unternehmensethik
• Rechtswissenschaften Wirtschaftsrecht Handels- und Gesellschaftsrecht Allgemeines und Gesamtdarstellungen (Gesellschaftsrecht)
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Unternehmensorganisation, Corporate Responsibility Unternehmenskultur, Corporate Governance

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PART I 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 II The Globalization of Financialism 6 The Globalization of Financialism PART III Beyond Financialism 7 Approaching Reform: Throwing a Wrench in the Works 8 Principles for a New Capitalism 9 Democratic Time Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Ezra Wasserman Mitchell is a graduate of Williams College and Columbia University Law School. With almost 40 years of experience as a law professor, he previously practiced corporate law in New York City. His academic and research expertise lies in corporate law, finance, and economic and financial history. He has also written on Chinese law, contracts law, and legal philosophy, and is a published poet. He has been teaching in China since 2016 and now serves as a Chair Professor at Shandong University.