The Spanish Financial–Real Estate Capitalism and Its Socio-Political Implications

Juan Pablo Mateo

A chapter in Trajectories of Declining and Destructive Capitalism, 2025, vol. 40, pp 107-121 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: This chapter offers a materialist critique of capitalism in Spain, integrating the patterns of capital accumulation, the divisions it engenders, and its influence on movements advocating social change. For this purpose, it scrutinizes the financial-real estate model – consistently bolstered by State intervention – from the labour theory of value. The analysis reveals how this model distorts macroeconomic indicators and exacerbates social and geographic disparities, as well as fostering an urban design that profoundly impacts the living conditions of workers. Furthermore, these dynamics have facilitated the emergence of a postmodern left based on identity politics and self-determination, which has exposed deep rifts within the labour movement. More broadly, it reflects an assimilation of the values intrinsic to capitalism, signalling a departure from traditional class-based politics.

Keywords: Spain; capitalism; finance; real estate; housing boom; urbanism; historical materialism; labour theory of value (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:rpeczz:s0161-723020250000040008

DOI: 10.1108/S0161-723020250000040008

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