On the freeports – Kojo Koram in TLS:

‘In an essay of 1946, George Orwell reminded readers that “to see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle”. In their complementary new books on the shadow global economy, the journalist Atossa Araxia Abrahamian and the sociologist Brooke Harrington assist us in this struggle. Starting from different points of origin, the authors seek to guide us around a world of financial skulduggery that determines much of our day-to-day lives in ways we rarely take the time to appreciate.’

(…)

‘The deceptive subtlety of the twenty-first-century freeport is part of its appeal. So-called “wealth creators” treasure its ability to protect them from the taxes, regulations or labour protections that democratic polities tend to impose on them. As a result, many luxury assets and even daily commodities in economic circulation pass not from country to country, but from freeport to freeport. Abrahamian reminds us that “chances are, the car you drive, the appliances in your kitchen and the Amazon packages on your doorstep all spent time in a freeport of some kind before making their way to you”. We spend so much time arguing about how to push our governments to pass laws in different directions, but is it all futile when capital is passing in and out of these little escape routes? As the world descends into a trade war of reciprocal tariffs, The Hidden Globe reminds us that the wealthiest in society can easily circumvent such charges by moving their high-end art or luxury jewellery through freeports. If we want to understand how capital has become increasingly insulated from the pressures of the masses in the age of runaway wealth inequality, Abrahamian argues, we need to open our eyes to these loopholes that lie all around us.’

(…)

‘Rather like Abrahamian, Harrington shows us that one prevailing image of the offshore world – of tropical islands filled with criminals and bags of dirty money – is woefully out of date. Both authors recognize that the operators of the hidden offshore economy do not run from the law, but turn towards it, using it as a weapon. As Harrington reminds us, “many uses of offshore are legal; the rest are often so complex that no one can prove that they are illegal”. Through the establishment of trusts, shell companies and layered ownership arrangements, all spread among multiple offshore jurisdictions whose governments have passed laws to ensure assets are protected from public scrutiny, the wealth managers ensure that their billionaire clients are protected from political volatility.’

(…)

‘As in The Hidden Globe, Harrington’s book shows us that the citizens of the offshore world are now escaping not just taxation, but also accountability. Many users of offshore services do not need to evade taxes: they already live in low-tax jurisdictions such as Switzerland or the Gulf states. Yet still they park their assets in the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands to avoid paying debts to business partners, to hide secret assets during divorce proceedings or to try to appear less wealthy than they are in order to run for political office. Most valuable to them, Harrington writes, is “the secrecy they purchase”.’

(…)

‘As Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, once declared, “competition is for losers”.’

(…)

‘The offshore mindset is one that looks for the hacks in the system and that thrives in the cracks of regulatory frameworks. It is a mindset that you can see articulated in the comments section of any trading or social media platform, often inhabited by young men and women who have been raised in this broken world. When such people see figures like Thiel or Elon Musk or Donald Trump, who publicly represent this mindset, they see the winners of the global financial game. Others might perceive instead the collapse of faith in meritocracy and of capitalism’s promise of trickle-down wealth for all.’

Read the article here.

Trump? Just the offshore mindset.

Competition for losers, very much indeed.

You purchase secrecy, the rest will follow.