Urry: “offshoring and democracy are in direct conflict.”

From a useful long review of John Urry’s book Offshoring, which was published a year ago and tackles issues close to us:

“Whether it is the work of capital or governments, ‘offshoring and democracy are in direct conflict’ . Urry wisely refuses to entertain the idea that offshoring’s antipathy to regulation represents the promise of freedom. Offshoring in itself has no redeeming qualities. It entails the triumph of private greed over the commons, the externalization of costs and the production of ignorance. It reveals corporate capital and criminal capital becoming ‘progressively undifferentiated’, such that ‘members of the contemporary bourgeoisie behave more and more like criminals’. Ultimately, offshoring helps the ‘rich class’ to become richer while also allowing them to disentangle themselves from the fates of most of those with whom they share a planet.”

We can agree with all of that, and it’s a good summary of what’s gone wrong with the world economy. Essential reading for those exploring this area.