CAPITALISM'S ACHILLES HEEL Dirty Money and How to

206 CAPITALISM’S ACHILLES HEEL
If the position that the inflow of dirty money to the United States and
other western democracies cannot be defended, then our perception of this
issue must change, from an assumption of its benefits to a recognition that
the price tag attached to these felonious funds is unacceptable. Then a very
interesting question arises. Is it possible to attack the global dirty-money
problem more aggressively without impeding the legitimate free-market system?
Here, it is important to understand that the proper goal is not to set up
a process intended to stop all suspect transfers but rather to curtail—very
substantially curtail—dirty money and our facilitation of its safe receipt.
Stopping dirty money completely would require draconian procedures. Significantly
curtailing dirty money can be accomplished without throwing
sand in the gears of legal trade and investment and is entirely a matter of political
will.
Rampant illegality is the first station along the continuum that threatens
global capitalism. With common techniques and use of the same structures,
drug dealers, other criminals, terrorists, corrupt government officials, and
corporate CEOs and managers are united in abuse of capitalism, to the
detriment of the rich in western societies and billions of poor around the
world. Global capitalism is operating at a low common denominator. It is
underachieving. It is far from spreading maximum or even acceptable levels
of prosperity across the globe. And it is capitalists themselves who should
have the greatest interest in eliminating the pervasive illegalities that have
come to characterize the global capitalist system.