Professional Authority After the Global Financial Crisis : Defending Mammon in Anglo-America

219 Pages·2017·3.83 MB·English

by  Campbell-Verduyn

Building a Sustainable Political
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MalcolmCampbell-Verduyn
Professional
Authority After
the Global
Financial Crisis
Defending Mammon in Anglo-America
MalcolmCampbell-Verduyn
BalsillieSchoolofInternationalAffairs
Waterloo,Ontario,Canada
BuildingaSustainablePoliticalEconomy:SPERIResearch&Policy
ISBN978-3-319-52781-9 ISBN978-3-319-52782-6(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-52782-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017941617
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Parts of Chapters 1 and 2 originally appeared as “Sustainability and the
Renewed Semi-Professionalism of Leading Anglo-American Financial
Services Firms”, Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn, Competition and Change,
vol. 19, no. 5 pp. 355-373. Copyright © 2015. Reprinted by Permission
of SAGEPublications, Ltd. sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
Parts of Chapters 3 and 6 originally appeared as “Merely TINCering
Around: The Shifting Private Authority of the Technology, Information
and News Corporations”. De Gruyter [Business and Politics 18, no. 2:
143-170.], Walter De Gruyter GmbH Berlin Boston, [2016]. Copyright
and all rights reserved. Material from this publication has been used with
the permissionof WalterDe Gruyter GmbH.
Parts of Chapters 4 and 6 originally appeared as “Moral Economese of
Scale: Financial Crisis and the Persistent Authority of Economists”.
Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn, Global Society 30, no. 4, pp. 507-530. ©
University of Kent. Reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd,
www.tandfonline.com onbehalf of University ofKent.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere thanks are due to Christina Brian and James Safford at Palgrave
MacmillanaswellastotheSPERIserieseditorsAnthonyPayneandColin
Hay for supporting the various proposals for this book; to Brendan
Ouellette for guidance in navigating the world of book publishing; to
Eric Helleiner for careful and constructive comments on the manuscript;
as well as to André Broome and Leonard Seabrooke for the extensive
feedback provided at the 2016 Warwick Manuscript Development
Session.ParticulardebtsofgratitudeareowedtoTonyPorterforinvalu-
ableadviceatallstagesofthisproject;totheprofessionalsinterviewedfor
their time and insights; to the Social Science and Humanities Council of
Canada for the financial support that enabled this book to be researched
and written; to Conny Steenman-Marcusse for enabling significant por-
tionsofthisbooktobewritteninanextremelyinspiringsettingatBBCC;
tomyparentsforsparkingandcontinuallysupportingmyscholarlyinter-
ests;andlast,butmostcertainlynotleast,tomypartnerLoretteSteenman
for her everyday encouragement, love, and vital stress on balance. This
bookisdedicatedtothememoriesofmygrandmothers,ClaireCampbell
andStonyVerduyn.
vii
C
ONTENTS
1 ProfessionalAuthorityand Anglo-American
Financein Crisis 1
ProfessionalAuthority inAnglo-American Finance 2
TheProfessionalsExamined 4
TheExplicit EthicalEmphasis 7
Understandingthe Explicit EthicalEmphasis 9
Limitsof theEnhancedEthicalEmphasis 11
TheData UnderlyingThisBook 15
Summary,Contribution,and Audiences 16
Notes 17
2 TheDynamism of Authority inGlobal Governance 19
DynamicProcessesof Authority 19
Identitiesand the (Self-)Legitimationof Power 20
Discourse,Agency, and Structure 22
ExercisingAuthorityin Global Governance 23
AuthorityBeyond the State 24
PublicandPrivate Practices 26
ProfessionalAuthority inGlobal FinancialGovernance 27
ChapterSummary 31
Notes 32
ix
x CONTENTS
3 TheDynamic Authority ofLeadingFinancial Services
Providers 33
ThePre-crisis Authorityof FinancialServices Providers 34
FinancialCrisisand Contestationsof Authority 38
DefendingMammon: Re-legitimatingPower in the
AftermathofCrisis 47
TheEnhancedEthicalEmphasis ofLeading AccountingFirms 47
TheEnhancedEthicalEmphasisofLeadingCreditRatingAgencies 51
TheEnhancedEthicalEmphasis ofLeading TINCs 55
Self-legitimation 58
ChapterSummary 62
Notes 62
4 TheDynamic Authority ofEconomists 65
ThePre-crisis Authorityof OrthodoxEconomists 66
Economeseand Expert Identities 66
LiberalMoralities,Backgrounded 67
FinancialCrisisand Contestationsof Authority 69
ExpertIdentities in Crisis 69
LiberalMoralitiesin Crisis 73
DefendingMammon: Re-legitimatingPower in the
AftermathofCrisis 75
RediscoveringWealthDistribution 76
Rediscoveringthe Environment 78
Self-legitimation 79
ChapterSummary 80
Notes 81
5 TheDynamic Authority ofAdvisories 83
ThePre-CrisisAuthority ofAdvisories 85
TheExpert Identities ofActuaries 85
TheExpert Identities ofLawyers andLegalGroups 86
TheExpert Identities ofConsultancies 88
FinancialCrisisand Contestationsof Authority 89
TheExpert Identities ofActuaries inCrisis 90
TheExpert Identities ofLegalFirmsin Crisis 91
TheExpert Identities ofConsultants in Crisis 93
CONTENTS xi
DefendingMammon: Re-LegitimatingPower inthe Aftermath
ofCrisis 94
TheEnhancedEthicalEmphasis ofLeading Actuaries 95
TheEnhancedEthicalEmphasis ofLeading LegalFirms 96
TheEnhancedEthicalEmphasis ofLeading Consultancies 98
Self-Legitimation 99
ChapterSummary 102
Notes 103
6 ContinuitiesandLimits 105
Limitsto Change 106
ThePersistence ofPre-crisis LiberalMarketValues 106
ThePersistence ofPre-crisis ExpertKnowledge 112
Continuity,Instability,and theWider Limitsto Professional
Authority 115
FlawedPredictions, Descriptions, andSolutions 115
Identification with Volatility andContinuing Challenges 120
IslamicFinance, Volatility,and Professional Authority 120
Sustainability,Volatility, and ProfessionalAuthority 122
ChapterSummary 125
Notes 126
7 ProfessionalAuthorityin Anglo-AmericanFinance and
Beyond 129
TheDynamic Underpinnings ofProfessional Authority 129
Implicationsand Further Questions 132
WasProfessional AuthorityRestored? 133
HowGeneralisableis the EnhancedEthicalEmphasis? 134
HowDesirable is theEnhancedEthicalEmphasis? 137
Conclusion 138
Appendix A:AnonymousList ofInterviewees ByDate 141
Appendix B:Interviewee TotalsPerProfession 143