Hilferding as an Eclectic: A History of Economic Thought Perspective on Finance Capital

Hilferding was not an orthodox Marxist but an eclectic. Two examples illustrate this: first, the terms Gemeinschaft/community and Gesellschaft/society from Tönnies, which Hilferding used as the basis for his description of the development of capitalism; and, second, the literature on American corporate finance, which Hilferding used as the basis for his definition of promoter’s profit. Evidently for Hilferding, this profit is primarily capitalised monopoly profit in the concentration process. The analysis of Hilferding’s private library helps explore these backgrounds. Besides, as honourable as the translation of Hilferding into English is, in principle, the translation is not always as precise as necessary to make these connections visible.