Marx and many of his less radical contemporary reformers saw the historical role of industrial
capitalism as being to clear away the legacy of feudalism—the landlords, bankers, and monopolists
extracting economic rent without producing real value. However, that reform movement failed.
Today, the finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sector has regained control of government,
creating neo-rentier economies. The aim of this postindustrial finance capitalism is the opposite
of industrial capitalism as known to nineteenth-century economists: it seeks wealth primarily
through the extraction of economic rent, not industrial capital formation. Tax favoritism for real
estate, privatization of oil and mineral extraction, and banking and infrastructure monopolies
add to the cost of living and doing business. Labor is increasingly exploited by bank debt, student
debt, and credit card debt while housing and other prices are inflated on credit, leaving less
income to spend on goods and services as economies suffer debt deflation. Today’s new Cold
— source michael-hudson.com | Michael Hudson | Jul 6, 2021