From exit to control: The structural power of finance under asset manager capitalism

Political economists have theorized the structural power of finance as a function of the scarcity of financial capital, which empowers its owners and intermediaries to (threaten) exit. This theory has trouble explaining the non-death of the rentier at a time when financial capital is abundant and lacks a credible exit option. This paper presents a theory updated for a world characterized by financial capital abundance, and by a shift in the predominant function of finance from banking to asset management. Today, asset managers pool financial capital on a scale that often puts them in a position of (near) control, while also maintaining a high degree of portfolio diversification. This defining feature of asset manager capitalism, although observable across asset classes, is most pronounced in the corporate economy. Whereas the control-based dominance of finance capital during the early 20th century was characterized by credit-debt relationships between banks and corporations, today asset managers’ equity holdings dominate; and whereas the shareholder capitalism of the late 20th century was characterized by impatient investors wielding the threat of exit, the power of asset managers in corporate governance is based on their large and illiquid, yet fully diversified shareholdings. Theorizing the structural power of finance as based on control and diversification helps explain both the rentier’s longevity and asset managers’ contribution to that outcome.

Exit als Folge von Ungerechtigkeit im Profifußball? Gerechtigkeitstheoretische Ansätze zur systematischen Begründung einer möglichen Abwendung von Fußballfans

Im Zuge der stetig voranschreitenden Kommerzialisierung des Profifußballs ergibt sich folgende zentrale Frage: Beeinträchtigt die (Über-)Kommerzialisierung des Fußballs die von Fans wahrgenommene Gerechtigkeit und begünstigt damit einen Exit von Fußballfans? Entsprechend der Exit-Voice-Theorie von Hirschman wählen Fußballfans aufgrund ihrer Loyalität zum Klub in der Regel die sogenannte Voice-Option (beispielsweise in Form der Mitbestimmung). Nicht-loyale Kunden_innen, beispielsweise von Unternehmen, ergreifen hingegen eher die Exit- Option. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde ein Exit von Fußballfans in der Literatur bislang vernachlässigt. Es liegen jedoch wesentliche Indizien vor, dass die Schließung dieser Forschungslücke für Wissenschaft und Praxis in Zukunft von hoher Bedeutung sein wird. Um ein besseres Verständnis für das neuartige Phänomen sowie eine Grundlage zukünftiger Forschungen zu schaffen, erarbeitet der vorliegende Beitrag – basierend auf der Tauschgerechtigkeit, der Leistungsgerechtigkeit sowie der sozialen Gerechtigkeit – systematisch die Gründe für einen Exit. Um die gesellschaftliche und ökonomische Relevanz der Thematik zu verdeutlichen, werden ebenfalls potenzielle Folgeprobleme dargestellt.

Die Veralltäglichung der Höllenmetaphorik in spätmodernen Zeiten

Der ,Epilog' widmet sich, den Sammelband beschließend, dem Bedeutungswandel des Jenseitskonzeptes der Hölle in spätmodernen Zeiten aus soziologischer sowie begriffs- und sozialgeschichtlicher Perspektive. Die metaphorische Gerichtetheit des Höllenkonzeptes wie dessen semantische Differenzierung im Zeitverlauf werden entfaltet. Hierbei kommt die Autorin zu der Einsicht, dass Die Geburt des Fegefeuers (Le Goff 1990) im späten zwölften und frühen 13. Jahrhundert eine erste, jedoch nachhaltige Abwertung der Hölle als Sanktionskonzept zur Folge hatte, indem mit dem Purgatorium als raum-zeitlich begrenzte Läuterungsphase mit ›Exit-Option‹ eine Alternative zur Ausweglosigkeit und Endgültigkeit ewiger Verdammnis offeriert worden sei. Das Resultat wird als Purgatorisierung der Hölle bezeichnet. In spätmodernen Zeiten sei die Hölle Bestandteil des ›Hier und Jetzt‹ geworden, sie habe sich ihres ursprünglich inhärenten Ewigkeitsanspruchs entledigt und fungiere nun vor allem als Chiffre für eine zeitlich befristete Phase der Unerträglichkeit.

Perceptions of the state of health services and the Brexit vote

The reasons behind the Brexit have been extensively analysed. Different studies have focused on factors as diverse as age, education, ethnicity, income, social class, unemployment, religion, immigration, and the support for parties and leaders, amongst others. No work has however studied the impact of perceptions of the quality of health services. This void is surprising because the Brexiteers repeatedly (and misleadingly) promised that 350 million pounds a week would be spent on the National Health Service (NHS) should the exit option triumph. As people who perceive health services to be bad might benefit from a better endowed NHS, we expect them to show a higher propensity to vote leave. Our results provide strong support for this, even when a wide array of controls is considered. This finding constitutes an original contribution to a crucial international political issue and stresses the importance of perceptions and fake news for voting behaviour.

Exit rights open complex pathways to cooperation

We study the evolutionary dynamics of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game in which cooperators and defectors interact with another actor type called exiters. Rather than being exploited by defectors, exiters exit the game in favour of a small pay-off. We find that this simple extension of the game allows cooperation to flourish in well-mixed populations when iterations or reputation are added. In networked populations, however, the exit option is less conducive to cooperation. Instead, it enables the coexistence of cooperators, defectors, and exiters through cyclic dominance. Other outcomes are also possible as the exit pay-off increases or the network structure changes, including network-wide oscillations in actor abundances that may cause the extinction of exiters and the domination of defectors, although game parameters should favour exiting. The complex dynamics that emerges in the wake of a simple option to exit the game implies that nuances matter even if our analyses are restricted to incentives for rational behaviour.

The Illiberal Challenge in the EU: Exploring the Parallel with Illiberal Minorities and the Example of Hungary

The long history of liberal multiculturalist theories grappling with the challenge posed by illiberal minorities – Parallel with the illiberal challenge in the European Union – Differences between the state/minority focus, the cultural/political considerations, the individual/systemic violations – Why these do not undermine the parallel – Propositions from multiculturalist theories to draw the line between toleration and legitimate interference – Severity, internal consensus, the exit option, and historical agreements – Forms of engagement to strengthen coherence, fairness, and solidarity

Buddhist Revitalization and Chinese Religions in Malaysia

Buddhist Revitalization and Chinese Religions in Malaysia tells the story of how a minority community comes to grips with the challenges of modernity, history, globalization, and cultural assertion in an ever-changing Malaysia. It captures the religious connection, transformation, and tension within a complex traditional belief system in a multi-religious society. In particular, the book revolves around a discussion on the religious revitalization of Chinese Buddhism in modern Malaysia. This Buddhist revitalization movement is intertwined with various forces, such as colonialism, religious transnationalism, and global capitalism. Reformist Buddhists have helped to remake Malaysia’s urban-dwelling Chinese community and have provided an exit option in the Malay and Muslim majority nation state. As Malaysia modernizes, there have been increasing efforts by certain segments of the country’s ethnic Chinese Buddhist population to separate Buddhism from popular Chinese religions. Nevertheless, these reformist groups face counterforces from traditional Chinese religionists within the context of the cultural complexity of the Chinese belief system.

Remaking Chinese Buddhists

The meaning of Buddhist revitalization for the Malaysian Chinese is the major theme of Chapter 5. This chapter outlines Malaysian Chinese society in using religious ‘reformism’ as a way to respond to societal malaise as well as seeking a political exit option towards Islamic and Malay supremacy. It is a soul-searching process for Malaysian Chinese. The role of a prominent monk, Chi Chern, a second-generation Mahayana Buddhism religious leader, is explored. Then the new social engagement of Tzu Chi and Fo Guang Shan is discussed. The new religious, cultural and political engagement which has encouraged transethnic solidarities is an exit option for Malaysian Chinese.