FINANCIAL CRISES AND THE SABOTAGE OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS: A VEBLENIAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This paper explored Veblen's contributions in relation to endogenous factors, present in the institutions and habits of financial management of industrial production, which are behind the crises and the restriction to economic growth. In the author's analysis, a general rule has been the prevalence of production management practices that aim to "sabotage" economic material in support of financial maximization. The economic and social inequalities, associated with productive idleness, are fundamental for sustaining the productive process in the capitalist system. In addition, the predatory mentality present in the habits that regulate this dynamic also contaminates the institutions that command economic policy. As a result, the attempt to restore the financial order of the system, after periods of instability, implies the deepening and intensification of industrial sabotage and concentration of power. This scope is in line with the post-Keynesians, especially Minsky and his theory of endogenous instability, in addition to advancing by incorporating the political aspect in the analysis of financiais crises.