Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World
Nomi Prins
Nation Books/An imprint of Perseus Books (MAY 2018)
How the world’s elite central bankers “have irrevocably transformed the very system they are sworn to defend”
It’s not a good idea to assume that if you trust wolves to guard sheep, they will have a keen sense of their fiduciary responsibilities.
Collusion is the latest of several brilliant books in which Nomi Prins shines a very bright light on all manner of unethical and/or immoral and/or illegal behavior among senior-level executives in the world’s largest financial institutions. Consider the thrust and significance of these subtitles: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power, An Epic Tale of Power, Deceit, and Untold Trillions, How “Conservatives” Are Picking Your Pocket (Whether You Voted for Them or Not), and of her latest book, How Central Bankers Rigged the World.
Prins is among the most important cultural anthropologists now exploring what Robert Burns once characterized as “man’s inhumanity to man.” She notes, “Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This principle doesn’t hold linearly at the intersection of money and politics, but it’s illuminating when cross-examined. Relationships must be untangled, geography collapsed, and time compacted to grasp the true causes and effects of money in politics.
“After the monetary system faces the sober reality of a real shock, the truth is that it may never return to its prior state. The system morphs into something new. Collusion chronicles the the ascent and interaction of the world’s elite central bankers, who accumulated unprecedented power and influence over the world economy following the financial crisis of 2007-2008. It tells the tale of how these undemocratically selected officials have irrevocably transformed the very system they are sworn to protect.”
What we have in this volume is a research-driven analysis of an all-too-familiar situation: fiduciary responsibilities are too-easily defeated by corrupt (albeit cunning) self-interests within the senior-levels of management in both governmental entities and the central banks entrusted to their oversight. Prfins raises serious questions about the incentives and rewards of what she so aptly characterizes as “the artificial lubrication of the banking system and financial markets.”
As this book’s subtitle suggests, central bankers may have “rigged the world” but Nomi Prins provides irrefutable evidence — check out her Notes on pages 261-341 — that they had eager, aggressive, and cunning accomplices (cleverly disguised as “public servants”) who view their fiduciary responsibilities as unique opportunities to enrich their net worth.
Roaches the size of walnuts will scatter when a bright light is shined upon them. Hopefully books such as this will have the same effect on the despicable riggers and those who tolerate, therefore condone them.