Abstract
Simpson explores how financial elites in the City of London interact with the City’s topographical, technological, and social environment to actively (re)produce a dominant cultural system of competitive market behaviour. The chapter begins by sketching the topographical and material environment of the City of London, to show how the extraordinary wealth generated by the financial services industry is etched into the landscape—a physical manifestation of market dominance. Drawing on interview data with financial elites, it then presents the ways in which this institutional and material topography enshrine a distinctive image of success, leading market actors to internalise qualities viewed as characteristic of the ‘perfect market’—speed, intelligence, and discipline—thereby reproducing ‘market reality’.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | From financial crisis to social change |
Subtitle of host publication | towards alternative horizons |
Editors | Torsten Geelan, Marcos González Hernando, Peter William Walsh |
Place of Publication | Cham |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
Pages | 13-30 |
Number of pages | 18 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783319706009 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783319705996 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- City of London
- financial elites
- markets
- ethnography
- Bourdieu
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