Martin finds in the derivative both a leitmotif of post-Bretton Woods global capitalism and a theoretical and historical heuristic device. By attending to the “logic” of the derivative, we can begin to develop an awareness of the way apparently independent or incongruous processes within global capitalism fit together within an overarching paradigm, the way different, seemingly disconnected processes “derive” value, structure and meaning from one another.

Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, loc. 482