Prelims

Half Title Page

Harm Production and the Moral Dislocation of Finance in the City of London

Title Page

Harm Production and the Moral Dislocation of Finance in the City of London: An Ethnography

BY

ALEX SIMPSON

Macquarie University, Australia

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2021

Copyright © 2021 Alex Simpson.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83909-495-8 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83909-494-1 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83909-496-5 (Epub)

Dedication Page

For Ruth and Robin.

Contents

List of Figures

About the Author

Alex Simpson’s research brings together inter-related themes of class, gender, embodiment and organisational practice to examine the embedded, and often hidden, cultures of finance. Through ethnographic research methods, his work develops an ‘on-the-ground’ account of the everyday practices, thought process and common assumptions that both legitimise and neutralise the production of social harm connected to finance work.

He undertook his PhD at the University of York. Supported by an ESRC studentship, this project focussed on questions of harm and deviance in the City of London’s financial services industry. He spent three years as a Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Brighton before moving to Macquarie University, Sydney, in 2018.

Drawing on this experience, his work has been published in leading academic journals, including Sociology, Cities and Work, Employment & Society. Alongside his continuing and ongoing research interests in the cultures of finance, he has been part of a British Academy funded, ethnographic study of class-based experiences of dirt and dirty work. This latter work was awarded the 2018 SAGE Prize for Innovation and Excellence.

Acknowledgements

There are too many people to mention who have supported me along the journey of this project. It has not always been easy, nor straightforward and without their guidance then I would certainly not be in the position to write these acknowledgements now. First and foremost are my PhD supervisors, Rowland Atkinson and Gareth Millington. Not far behind are two inspirational mentors who have always been willing (and patient enough) to review drafts and provide invaluable feedback: Yvonne Jewkes and Shani Orgad. I owe my career (such that it is) to these four. My mum would kill me without mentioning her or my family, they have been an immense support – as has Amy (thank you Amy). I must also thank Jules Willan, Katy Mathers and everyone connected to Emerald for being patient with me as I have dragged my heels along the way. You have shown unwarranted levels of patience. Finally, thank you to all the wonderful staff at the various cafes where I have overstayed my welcome. From Compass Point in Brighton (thank you Alex and Joe) everyone at Shenkin in Sydney, thank you for humouring me as I pretend that I may order a second coffee and for not kicking me out.

Endorsement Page

‘It was clear that his bonus was going to be minute, could even be as little as his annual pay of $150,000. In practical terms, that would be the same as being dragged out the back of the office and finished off with a bullet in the back of the neck.

Roger opened the envelope. It was stuck down, and for a moment he felt a flash of irritation at the prats who ran the bank, the kind of people who didn’t know the convention about hand-delivered letters, that they were never stuck down, on the basis that it was an implied insult to third parties handling the letter; the convention was that among gentlemen you could rest assured that private correspondence would go unread. But these nouveau twats had no idea about anything like that. He took out the piece of paper. His bonus for the year was £30,000.

He knew that there was no point saying anything; that it would do no good to cough and splutter and remonstrate. He had been the person on the other side of the desk and was fully informed of the futility of saying or doing anything in protest. And yet he found himself saying:

“But … what … it isn’t … contribution, billions … fundamentally not fair … when I think of what I’ve done … basic pay … not a question of greed but of necessary …”’

(Lanchester, 2012, pp. 139–140)