The rapacious ambivalence of VC investment
Venture capital, value capture, and the valorization of crisis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4495156 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Howard (0000-0002-8107-0945, University of California, Santa Cruz, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 89-112 |
| Publication date | 2024-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Finance and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-5999 • E-ISSN: 2059-5999 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/fas.2024.1 |
| OpenAlex | W4394847695 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 19 |
This article explores venture capital (VC) as a means and process of accumulating future social necessity. It explores the mechanisms of growth that make VC-backed firms distinct. I argue that a distinctive feature of surplus value capture through VC is valorization via socially necessary contracted space-time, a corrective to Marx's theorization of socially necessary labor time, which appears incomplete in the context of VC. First, extending Marx's general formula for capital, I develop a general formula for VC, demonstrating how the VC investment upends traditional theories of capitalist accumulation. Second, I argue that VC invests in firms seeking to capture 'human capital' resources and uncapitalized market 'space' (noncapitalist social logics of exchange) with the aim of achieving 'product-market fit'. Third, I demonstrate how time and space are contracted under the VC process as a value capture (VC) mechanism relating to future social necessity. VC is, I argue, about accumulating today what we will all need to be consuming tomorrow, just to keep up with social norms. Finally, I explore how the valorization of crisis (VC) demonstrates the accumulation of future social necessity in practice. I conclude with thoughts concerning the possibility of alternatives beyond the overdetermined rapacity of 'VC
Ambivalence · Business · Economics · Market economy · Neoclassical economics · Political science · Politics · Social capital · Social reproduction · Social science · Sociology · Venture capital · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · Law · Private Equity and Venture Capital · Finance
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| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 16 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 16 |