Rudolf Hilferding on the Economic Categories of ‘Joint-Stock Company/Share Capital’: A Refinement of the Critique of Political Economy?

The question whether Hilferding’s analysis represents a refinement of the categories of ‘joint-stock company’ and ‘share capital’ in the critique of political economy must be answered with a ‘not yet’, consequently warranting a more precise definition. The corresponding study suggests that left-wing scholars have to address the fact that large parts of the left in the West are generally much closer to Hilferding in their actual way of thinking and working than to, for example, Marx and Luxemburg: they have not taken on an understanding of progress oriented towards socialisation that proceeds from people acting in a self-determined manner, in solidarity and ecologically. The correction needed implies a shift towards an understanding of the interplay of concentration, centralisation and decentralisation of resources and decisions that would allow for a maximum degree of individual freedom and equality, maximum resource efficiency and a minimum strain on natural living conditions.