Postone’s Legacy: Capitalism and Time

Abstract

This article reviews Moishe Postone’s basic concepts, particularly his notion of “temporality.” An invaluable resource for this consideration is the spring 2020 issue of Critical Historical Studies and the associated conference organized to honor Postone’s legacy. I examine the notion of time with respect to socially necessary abstract labor in production as well as the time necessary for the completion of financial circuits. I explore the role of money in the extraction of surplus as well as its concealment and extend the discussion of fetishism of commodities to understand its ongoing cultural force. I apply the notion of “fetishism of money” to analyze modern financial innovations in order to understand how the political implications of money can best be revealed and mobilized. Drawing from Marx’s Capital, particularly volume 3, I conclude that finance, such as derivatives, cannot be a new source of value, despite its appearance of autonomous self-expansion.