I’ve read a good deal about globalization, but never realized how the same trends that underlie trade and consumption and for some, wealth generation, were also supporting a horrific, criminal system that reaches all parts of the world. Former BBC reporter Misha Glenny provides a chilling overview of the many types of illegal activities that are facilitated by globalization, including sex trafficking, drug smuggling, trading in endangered species and even human slavery.
The stage was set for these illegal enterprises by the fall of the Soviet Union and the consequent lack of organized law enforcement that followed. As the Russian empire disintegrated, unsavory characters of all sorts found that big money could be made by meeting the baser desires of even more unsavory consumers. While there has always been a market for corrupt products and services, never before has there existed a network for their provision that spans the globe and has access to advanced technology. That network is what Glenny calls McMafia. Comical name, until you start reading this book and learn what the term refers to. In short order you will recognize that McMafia is no laughing matter.
I would have liked to see Glenny go into more detail about what can be done to mitigate some of the degenerate (there is no other word for it) things that go on in the world today, and perhaps some other writer will take on that job. In any case, this eye-opening book is highly recommended.
-- Bonnie McEwan