Book Review: Thick Moralities, Thin Politics
| Author | Stefano Bertea |
| DOI | 10.1177/096466390501400312 |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
06 055692 Reviews (bc-s) 12/7/05 3:25 pm Page 447
BOOK REVIEWS
447
primitive modes of laundering through casinos, property or repurchased lottery or
race tickets. These systems avoid the ‘processing fees’ associated with more sophisti-
cated laundering and keep the money within reach so limiting risks of defection.
Kopp maintains that complex laundering only makes sense when organizations have
a stable hierarchical evolution and are able to predict revenue flow (p. 162). He states
that, ironically, the greatest need for sophisticated laundering techniques arises in
those countries that most actively combat drug trafficking. For Kopp this re-
evaluation of the ‘laundering bill’ explains why laundering is avoided by the majority
of drug dealers. This chapter, together with some discussion of bank regulation,
completes the body of the book. Policy-makers and economists alike will not find
‘what to do’ in terms of public policy but they will find many things that they should
not do and many unexpected insights and points of interest nonetheless. While ulti-
mately the book does not solve what is undoubtedly one of today’s most intractable
social problems, it nevertheless makes a very valuable contribution to our under-
standing of the policing and operation of drugs markets.
REFERENCES
Leuw, E. (1994) ‘Initial Construction and Development of the Official Dutch Drug
Policy’, in E. Leuw and I. H. Marshall, Between Prohibition and Legalization:
The Dutch Experiment in Drug Policy. Amsterdam: Kugler.
NEIL OLLEY
University of Wolverhampton, UK
BENJAMIN GREGG, Thick Moralities, Thin Politics, Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 2003, 245 pp., £15.95 (pbk).
In Thick Moralities, Thin Politics, Benjamin Gregg takes up the fundamental question
of how to reach social and political agreements in societies inhabited by people who
do not have the same worldviews and moral beliefs. This question bears great prac-
tical significance; indeed, we often appreciate in our daily lives how the core element
of the societies we live in consists of enabling people of different persuasions to live
together and cooperate. Its great practical significance makes the question...
BOOK REVIEWS
447
primitive modes of laundering through casinos, property or repurchased lottery or
race tickets. These systems avoid the ‘processing fees’ associated with more sophisti-
cated laundering and keep the money within reach so limiting risks of defection.
Kopp maintains that complex laundering only makes sense when organizations have
a stable hierarchical evolution and are able to predict revenue flow (p. 162). He states
that, ironically, the greatest need for sophisticated laundering techniques arises in
those countries that most actively combat drug trafficking. For Kopp this re-
evaluation of the ‘laundering bill’ explains why laundering is avoided by the majority
of drug dealers. This chapter, together with some discussion of bank regulation,
completes the body of the book. Policy-makers and economists alike will not find
‘what to do’ in terms of public policy but they will find many things that they should
not do and many unexpected insights and points of interest nonetheless. While ulti-
mately the book does not solve what is undoubtedly one of today’s most intractable
social problems, it nevertheless makes a very valuable contribution to our under-
standing of the policing and operation of drugs markets.
REFERENCES
Leuw, E. (1994) ‘Initial Construction and Development of the Official Dutch Drug
Policy’, in E. Leuw and I. H. Marshall, Between Prohibition and Legalization:
The Dutch Experiment in Drug Policy. Amsterdam: Kugler.
NEIL OLLEY
University of Wolverhampton, UK
BENJAMIN GREGG, Thick Moralities, Thin Politics, Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 2003, 245 pp., £15.95 (pbk).
In Thick Moralities, Thin Politics, Benjamin Gregg takes up the fundamental question
of how to reach social and political agreements in societies inhabited by people who
do not have the same worldviews and moral beliefs. This question bears great prac-
tical significance; indeed, we often appreciate in our daily lives how the core element
of the societies we live in consists of enabling people of different persuasions to live
together and cooperate. Its great practical significance makes the question...
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