The Dialectic of Financial and Industrial Capital in the U.S. Economy: Globalization and Protectionism in Historical Perspective

Abstract

This article examines the enduring conflict between financial capital and industrial capital in the United States, manifesting as opposing drives toward globalization versus protectionism. Drawing on Marxist political economy, Polanyi’s concept of the “double movement,” and contemporary globalization theory, it traces how this conflict has evolved from the 19th through the 21st centuries. The analysis reveals that changing dominance between financial and industrial interests has repeatedly influenced U.S. trade and economic policy, from 19th-century protectionism to post-1945 liberalization and late 20th-century globalization.  The findings indicate that U.S. economic policy emerges from a dynamic dialectic between these two fractions of capital. Globalization is not a one-way trajectory, but a contested process shaped by the push and pull of different capitalist interests, as the interplay between financial and industrial capital continues to unfold.