Economic Turmoil and White Collar Crime – Market Crash, State Failure, or Dissolution of Social Values

Adnan Duraković, Sabina Duraković

Abstract


ABSTRACT

Capitalist society, organization and values emerge from innovation and creativity. They form the ground for success of every kind including the economic one, and can be achieved and realized legally or illegally. The regulation and control of these activities lies on the economic and political elites and highly positioned government officials as they, in the eyes of the wider public, have the power and the authority to mitigate the unpredictable and hard-to-control effects of the free market and other crisis situations. Such position allows the elites and officials to act legally or illegally, morally or immorally and provides an opportunity for committing the white collar crime. White collar crime, perceived merely as flaw in the complex system of risk management, is not being seen as a serious form of crime with perpetrators being stigmatized by the society as a whole, although its features include misuse of trust, failed expectations, enormous loss of money as well as altering and manipulating the behavior of population in the interest of elites. In spite of the fact that lower classes’ crimes are visible, create fear and severe moral judgment from the majority of population, white collar crimes affect critically the society as a whole and create a solid ground for economic disorders, namely the nation or worldwide economic crisis. The paper examines the concept of economic crisis, legal responsibilities of corporations and elites, market failures, dissolution of social values, and the role of government in turbulent times.


Keywords*


Keywords: white collar crime, expectations, trust, economic crises, government institutions

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