Sweezyian Financial Instability Hypothesis—Monopoly Capital, Inflation, Financialization, Inequality and Endless Stagnation

Abstract

From the standpoint of monopoly capital theory, this paper argues that oligopolistic capitalism is internally unstable. The instability manifests from the historical evolution of finance within oligopolistic capitalism. The historical rise of oligopolistic capitalism has given rise to price fluctuations; (non-financial) firms have increasingly relied on financial firms to guarantee prices. At the level of the individual firm, this increase in future markets has reduced risk and tended to increase production. However, at the macro-economic level the increase in financial speculation has generated greater instability and inequality. This paper theorizes this macro-economic instability and inequality, along with the increase in the rate of exploitation by means of “financial expropriation.”