It's Legal but It Ain't Right: Harmful Social Consequences of Legal Industries

1. Introduction: A Crime by Any Other Name

; 1 Introduction A Crime by Any Other Name Nikos Passas and Neva Goodwin Billions of U.S. dollars and enormous intellectual and human capital are spent annually ‹ghting the “crime problem,” which is essentially constructed as a “street crime problem.” Students of white-collar crime and several nonpro‹t organizations have tried to call attention to “crimes in the suites,” but these efforts have had limited impact on actual public policy (Clinard 1990). There is convincing evidence that corporate misdeeds victimize more people—even entire societies—than street offenders; nevertheless , public perceptions and policy priorities continue to support practices whereby “the rich get richer and the poor get prison” (Reiman 2000). Recently, the threat of transnational organized crime (TOC) has become prominent in media, policy, and intelligence circles. Without any universally accepted de‹nition of TOC, the emphasis is usually on misconduct perpetrated by stereotyped ethnic and marginal groups, while most authors neglect the interfaces between legal and illegal enterprises (Passas 1999b, 2003). For example, Britain’s National Criminal Intelligence Service (2000, 6) stated that an organized crime group meets the following criteria: “contains at least three people; criminal activity is prolonged or inde‹nite; criminals are motivated by pro‹t or power; serious criminal offences are being committed.” In principle, there is no reason why this de‹nition would not apply to big corporations with established records of repeated felony convictions (e.g., General Electric). However, the groups that the intelligence service deems to represent threats are mostly Albanian, Turkish, African, Colombian, West Indian, and Asian ; ethnics, along with some “British Caucasians” and motorcycle gangs. So even when of‹cial agencies attempt to de‹ne the problem, some of the most serious and powerful offenders are in practice excluded. Biases in criminal justice and other legal areas do not stop here. By concentrating on what is of‹cially de‹ned as illegal or criminal, an even more grave threat to society is left out. This threat emanates from corporate practices that are within the letter of the law but have serious adverse social consequences. Quite often the main reason why such practices remain legal and accepted by society is that industries mobilize ‹nancial and other resources to avoid stricter regulation. The point is most dramatically illustrated in recent revelations regarding the tobacco industry, one of several industries whose products, practices, or side effects are seriously at odds with the public interest. Additional examples may be found in the gambling industry, weapons producers, energy companies, private security ‹rms, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology ‹rms, offshore ‹nancial institutions, law ‹rms, and antiquities traders, most of which will be discussed in this book. This book is not about crime—not even white-collar and corporate crime. Readers interested more in such issues can turn to the relevant sociological and criminological literature (Braithwaite 1984, 1985; Calavita and Pontell 1993; Coleman 1987; Fisse and Braithwaite 1993; Levi 1995; Pearce and Tombs 1998; Ruggiero 1996; Shapiro 1990; Simpson 2002; Snider 1993; Stone 1975; Yeager 1995). The book is also not intended as a wholesale indictment of corporations in general. Rather, it is about how corporate power can be and does get abused. It is about the unhelpful and damaging in›uence corporations exert on law- and policymaking processes. This book argues that we have set our priorities wrongly by overlooking misdeeds whose consequences are even more threatening than what is legally designated as crime. Unfortunately, instead of attempting to remedy this problem, we are moving in the opposite direction. Globalization creates situations that require ever more effective regulatory action and oversight, but part of the neoliberal agenda around the globe is to deregulate businesses and further reduce the role of the state. Not only does this have criminogenic consequences of its own (Passas 2000), but it also furthers certain types of misconduct that undermine democratic processes and sustainable economic growth. The ‹rst section of this introductory chapter will outline some types of corporate practice that are entirely lawful yet are often more harmful than 2 IT’S LEGAL BUT IT AIN’T RIGHT what is de‹ned as crime. It would not be helpful to stretch the concepts of crime and criminality to cover these practices, yet their negative impact is so substantial that even fervent proponents of free market systems can see that these practices generate more harm than good for society overall. The immediate effects often fall on underprivileged people or countries, but...