The Rise of the Offshore World
Summary
Host Thomas Small interviews historian Ian Kumakawa about his book *Empty Vessel*, which traces the global economy through the life of a single engine-less barge. The vessel’s journey from Swedish shipyards to Falklands barracks, New York prison ships, and Nigerian oil fields illustrates the rise of financialized capitalism and offshore legal loopholes. Kumakawa argues that abstract financial mechanisms often override physical realities and moral justice, revealing the hidden costs of deindustrialization and globalization.
Topics discussed
Mazda Safety Advertisement
Introduction to the Offshore Economy and Guest
Book Overview: Empty Vessel and Industrial Capitalism
Social Democracy, Economic Growth, and Abstraction
The Barge as a Symbol of the Offshore World
The Barge's Journey: From Sweden to the Falklands
Swedish Shipbuilding and State-Capitalist Partnerships
Global Competition and the Barge's Retrofitting
The Falklands War and British Privatization
New York's Port Decline and the Rise of Prison Ships
Financial Deregulation and Offshore Banking in NYC
Legality vs. Justice in the Offshore System
Neoliberalism, Abstraction, and Global Inequality
Conclusion and Credits
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