Necessary Evil: How to Fix Finance by Saving Human Rights

Over the course of modern history, finance, the fuel of capitalism, has had both positive and negative impacts on humanity. The debate about which impacts weigh more heavily is central to political life too; indeed, the rightful power of finance capitalism is arguably the most fundamental dividing line in all of modern politics. In Necessary Evil?, the eminent human rights scholar David Kinley argues that while finance has historically facilitated many beneficial trends in human well-being, a sea change has occurred in the past quarter century. Since the end of the Cold War, the finance sector's power has grown by leaps and bounds, and Kinley argues that it is now out of control. Able to plead that its fundamental importance to the continued operations of the world capitalist system exempts it from the sort of oversight practiced in the past, it has become increasingly free of regulatory constraints. As he shows in case after case, the financial industry now more often than not hinders progress in human rights and well-being. He ranges broadly to make his argument, using episodes of financial industry malfeasance from around the world--from the world's financial capitals to the mines of central Africa to the factories of East Asia--to illustrate how the sector fails to advance the human condition. There are signs of progress, however, and he uses these to develop policies that can help us improve the chances that finance advances human rights. In the final section of the book, he marshals recent examples of financial industry actors using their power and expertise for good. A penetrating investigation of how our economic system affects human rights progress, this will be an essential read for anyone interested in how to make the global capitalist system more responsible and progressive.