ABSTRACT
Industrial and post-industrial economic systems are characterized by two unambiguous phenomena that are at the center of current discussions on the current crisis: the increase of the profit share during the last thirty years and the increased degree of ‘financialization’ of economic systems. Mainstream economics seems ill-equipped to face these issues satisfactorily, in particular from a normative stance. For example, questions like ‘what level of profits is needed by the system?’ or, ‘is there a desirable degree of financialization for economic systems?’ do not seem to find useful answers in the Paretian approach.
