The article discusses the perspective of oligarchs regarding their wealth, viewing inquiries into their finances as infringements on personal liberty. This mindset obscures the distinction between legitimate business and crime. Scholar Harrington highlights the link between tax havens and organized crime, noting that these “paradises” often facilitate law-breaking for wealthy clients. She argues that right-wing political forces, such as Germany’s AfD and the Brexit campaign, typically receive funds from anonymous offshore donors, diverting focus from the wealthy evading regulations and exacerbating inequality.
Harrington compares the modern global elite to historical aristocracy, noting that unlike visible nobles who felt some obligation to the common good, today’s hidden plutocrats evade responsibility and taxes, forcing the middle and lower classes to shoulder the fiscal burden. She elucidates the lack of benefits for the majority in tax havens, which are often riddled with corruption and offer little upward mobility.
Her book explores intriguing topics like the role of Russian oligarchs and the emergence of tax havens during British decolonization. A critical point made is that offshore finance has turned the avoidance of laws into a status symbol, fueled by libertarian ideologies that undermine the state’s role. This rhetoric suggests that free markets require no regulation, while in reality, market efficiency relies on the rule of law and transparency. Harrington insists that sustainable governance needs adequate revenues and that illicit financial flows threaten both national and global stability, enabling an elite challenge to legal equality.
