Crack-Up Capitalism

'Gonzo brilliance ... unique and highly entertaining' Financial Times

'Revelatory reading' Adam Tooze, author of Crashed

'After reading Quinn Slobodian's new book, you are not likely to think about capitalism the same way' Jacobin

Look at a map of the world and you'll see a neat patchwork of nation-states.

But this is not where power actually resides.

From the 1990s onwards, globalization has shattered the map, leading to an explosion of new legal entities: tax havens, free ports, city-states, gated enclaves and special economic zones. These new spaces are freed from ordinary forms of regulation, taxation and mutual obligation - and with them, ultracapitalists believe that it is possible to escape the bonds of democratic government and oversight altogether.