Unaccountable: how elite power brokers corrupt our finances, freedom, and security

Abstract

A groundbreaking exposé that reveals the patterns and practices of a new and more sophisticated style of corruption that has infiltrated every level of society. Anthropologist Janine Wedel unmasks a fast-evolving system of power and influence that is unaccountable to those it is supposed to serve. This insidious form of corruption goes far beyond the usual targets of K Street lobbying or political bribery. The sweep of this new corruption is broader, and its practitioners remain beyond shame, suffering few consequences when exposed. Today academics, physicians, retired generals, even former heads of state exploit their prestige as a commodity. Think tanks, once the source of sober-minded studies, now often act as bullhorns for the powerful. Wall Street, unbowed by the 2008 crash, remains free to "innovate" into the next financial disaster. "Nonprofits" channel the agendas of billionaires and "grassroots" organizations are run from the top. Technology has even helped decimate journalism, the very profession that used to hold the elite to account. --From publisher description