Luxury and Corruption

Abstract

Luxury, luxury business, and corruption are intertwined in multiple ways. Luxury goods, art, and real estate are used to launder proceeds from corruption and organized crime; luxury goods are used as bribes; the desire for luxury motivates corruption; images of illicit luxuries are used in corruption exposés and fuel populist politics; anti-corruption measures impact luxury markets. Despite this, the relationship between luxury and corruption has not been an object of systematic research. This chapter is therefore exploratory in its nature, an invitation to think luxury and corruption together, and beyond the business of luxury. It argues that much can be gained from thinking luxury and corruption together and in new and critical ways. An analysis of the logic of luxury and of luxury business is not only key to understanding the driving forces behind corruption, but it also offers a powerful entry point to making sense of moral cultures, reigning political and economic views, and the making of global ethics.