The Crimes of the Powerful and the Globalization of Crime

Abstract

Inspired by the theme and written for the Seminario Internacional de Direcito, Democracia & Sustentabilidade, 13-14 de agosto de 2015, IMED, Passo Fundo, this article examines the effects of the crimes of the powerful as represented by multinational corporations, state organizations, and non-state actors alike in the context of geopolitics and the globalization of capital. The essay sets out to exhaustively define the crimes of the powerful while providing an overview of the globalization of crime and victimization. Additionally, as a matter of discussing the relations of the globalization of crime, capital, and social control, I summarize the primary lessons learned from The Routledge International Handbook of the Crimes of the Powerful (2015) that I was the Editor for and contributor to. Finally, I conclude by responding to the dialectical question of whether the current economic recessions, contractions, and unchecked expansion of financial and corporate wealth are sustainable and represent a prototype of things to come or are not sustainable and represent the need for the development of alternative archetypes of change and sustainability? Key Words Crime; Globalization; Political Economy; Powerful; Sustainable RESUMO inspirado pelo tema e escrito para o Seminario Internacional de Direito, Democracia e Sustentabilidade, 13-14 de agosto de 2015, IMED, Passo Fundo, este artigo examina os crimes dos poderosos, representados pelas corporacoes multinacionais, organizacoes estatais e atores nao estatais, tanto no contexto da geopolitica quanto da globalizacao do capital. O ensaio visa a definir exaustivamente os crimes dos poderosos , proporcionando uma visao geral da globalizacao do crime e da vitimizacao. Alem disso, para discutir as relacoes da globalizacao do crime, do capital, e do controle social , eu resumirei as principais licoes aprendidas a partir de The Routledge International Handbook of the Crimes of the Powerful (2015), do qual eu fui editor e colaborador. Por fim, concluo respondendo a questao dialetica de se a atual recessao economica, as contracoes e a expansao desenfreada de riqueza financeira e corporativa sao sustentaveis e representam um prototipo de coisas para vir ou nao sao sustentaveis e representam a necessidade de desenvolver arquetipos alternativos de mudanca e de sustentabilidade? Palavras-chave: Crime; Globalizacao; Economia Politica; Poderosos; Sustentavel