Marx and the 21st century capitalism

ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze contemporary capitalism in the light of Marx’s contribution in The Capital. For this, in the first part their understanding of money capital, interest-bearing capital and fictitious capital are discussed, emphasizing the fetishized aspects and the autonomy that the latter achieved in relation to the production of goods, that is, new value. In the second part, the volume assumed by fictitious capital in world capitalism and its consequences for the interior of companies and for the maintenance of employment, among others, are analyzed. Among its conclusions, it is pointed out that this relative autonomy does not constitute an anomaly or cancer. On the contrary, it is an expression of the logical development of the capital form, when there are no restraints on it, given the situation of retreat in which workers are at the international level.

摘要 本文旨在结合马克思在《资本论》中的理论贡献，对当代资本主义展开剖析。为此，第一部分将围绕货币资本（money capital）、生息资本（interest-bearing capital）与虚拟资本（fictitious capital）展开探讨，着重阐释虚拟资本所具备的拜物教特质（fetishized aspects），及其相较于商品生产（即新价值创造）所衍生出的自主性。第二部分则聚焦全球资本主义体系中虚拟资本的规模，及其对企业内部运营、就业维持等诸多方面所产生的影响进行分析。研究结论指出，虚拟资本的这种相对自主性并非反常现象抑或恶性赘瘤；恰恰相反，在不受任何约束的前提下，结合当前国际范围内工人阶级所处的退缩态势，这一特性正是资本形态合逻辑演进的体现。