Capital�s humpback bridge: �financialisation� and the rate of turnover in Marx�s economic theory

passarella, marco veronese ; baron, herv�;

The article aims to shed light on the role played by the �rate of turnover� of capital in
Marx�s economic theory. Oddly enough, such a concept has been neglected by most
of Marx�s scholars and exegetes, as is demonstrated by the small number of scientific
works dealing with it. Yet the rate of turnover is a key category in Marxian analysis,
because it enables Marx to address the impact of the improvement in finance
and other unproductive industries on the capitalist process of creation (and realisation)
of surplus value. The evidence from the new philological edition of Marx and
Engel�s writings (MEGA2) further strengthens this insight. The main goal of the
article is threefold: first, to bridge the gap in the literature dealing with volume Two
of Capital; second, to provide a re-definition of several Marxian concepts in the light
of the role played by the rate of turnover of capital; third, to analyse the effect of the
developments in the banking and finance industry on the turnover rate and thereby
on the general rate of profit.