OFFSHORE

A Dartmouth sociology professor explores the complex, supersecret world of offshore finance.

When Harrington, author of Capital Without Borders, began studying offshore finance in 2007, she found that almost no data existed about those taking advantage of the system. Knowing she could not directly access wealthy individuals herself, she made a plan to earn wealth manager credentials so she could access them through their financial managers. Through classwork and interviews with her colleagues-in-training, the author learned that the system was less a scheme for tax avoidance and more a “platform for an elite insurgency opposed to…equality before the law, economic stability [and] free markets.” Staying hidden is critical to the success of offshoring projects because "secrecy confers impunity.” She argues that part of what makes this system so insidious is the way it has repurposed the legal and financial infrastructure of the old imperial era for the new transnational elite. These practices have in turn transformed former poor ex-colonies like the Bahamas into law-free zones where deals that support the illegal enrichment of the already wealthy can take place. At the same time, the lure of wealth and profit have brought even rich democratic countries like the U.S. (which boasts a few of the most popular offshore centers in the world) into the plutocratic wealth management game. Apart from publicly shaming the individuals who use the system, Harrington suggests that one effective way of curbing their activities is cutting the connection between the superrich and their managers. In a world where everything else can be bought, “trust is not a commodity and cannot be purchased easily from another provider.” Intriguing and timely, this book will be of interest not only to academics, but to anyone seeking an understanding of the hidden forces behind global wealth inequality.

Illuminating, accessible reading.