Limits Inherent in the Process Itself

As we have seen, financial transactions provide a way for non-captive partners in a relationship to escape from it by objectivizing the value that was hitherto built into it by a transaction oriented price discovery process. It is therefore not surprising that efforts to ‘enhance value’ are part of the arsenal of those who seek to get out of relationships with a profit and those who make their living from transactions. All the transactional ‘noise’ is, in principle, external to the actual relationship. The potential, or value, of a relationship is known above all to the partners on whom it depends. They are happy with their relationship and do not need to shout about it from the rooftops. Since the relationship is by definition open to the future and since the future depends (among other things, of course) on the partners’ trust, loyalty and commitment, it has no objective value that is independent of the partners. It is thus an untransparent reality, one that is both fertile and fragile. As we have seen, financialization involves large-scale exploitation of relationships for transactional purposes. This situation will have a direct impact on relations between partners in relationships. They will become more cautious, and less willing to commit themselves to new relationships.