Alt–Finance – How the City of London Bought Democracy

Powerful financial forces have supported the neoliberal project since the 1980s to advance their interests; but there are now signs that these forces have a new face and a new strategy. The majority of the British finance sector threw its support behind Britain leaving the European Union, a flagship institution of neoliberalism. Beyond this counterintuitive move, what was really happening and why? Alt-Finance examines a new authoritarian turn in financialised democracies, focusing on the City of London, revealing a dangerous alternative political project in the making. In a clash with traditional finance, the new behemoths of financial capital - hedge funds, private equity firms and real estate funds - have started to cohere around a set of political beliefs, promoting libertarian, authoritarian, climate-denying and Eurosceptic views. Protecting investments, supressing social dissent and reducing state interference are at the core of their mission for a new world order. By following the money, the authors provide indisputable evidence of these worrying developments. Through a clear analysis of the international dealings of this new authoritarian-libertarian regime, not just in Britain but in the US and Brazil, we can understand how our world is being shaped against our will by struggles between dominant groups.