Empty Vessel
The Story of the Global Economy in One Barge
The rise of globalization and financialization as seen from a barge—one Swedish barge, to be exact, built in 1979
"The many-headed hydra of neoliberalism has found its chronicler." —Sven Beckert, author of Empire of Cotton
"I’ve rarely read a book that so deftly entwines a single, accessible story with the broad forces of globalization. A stunningly original history." —Maya Jasanoff, author of The Dawn Watch
What do a barracks for British troops in the Falklands War, a floating jail off the Bronx, and temporary housing for VW factory workers in Germany have in common? The Balder Scapa: a single barge that served all three roles. Though the name would eventually change to Finnboda 12. And then to Safe Esperia. And later on,…
IAN KUMEKAWA is a historian at the Center for History and Economics at Harvard University. He is the author of The First Serious Optimist: A. C. Pigou and the Birth of Welfare Economics (2017), which won the Joseph J. Spengler Prize. He has taught at Harvard and MIT. He hails from Clinton, CT and now lives in Boston.
