From Populist denunciations of the “money trust” to Marxist theories of “finance capital,” left critics have often painted finance as a distinct social actor with its own set of interests.

But in a forthcoming article, the economist JW Mason and his coauthors offer a radically different interpretation of finance’s role in capitalist society.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Jacobin editor Seth Ackerman, Mason tackles the rise of index funds, the European financial crisis, and why we should take buzzwords like “disruption” seriously.