According to Greek mythology, Pandora’s box contained all the evils known to mankind. When Pandora opened the box, she released them into the world.
The newly released Pandora Papers contain information about the owners of shell companies. Media coverage refers to the release as a “data leak.” In fact, “data leak” is a euphemism for unlawfully disclosed information. The problem is whether the shell companies in question have ever been used to hide illegal or disreputable activities. And that risks the perception that shell companies are automatically reprehensible.
True, shell companies are frequently used by money launderers, drug traffickers, and corrupt politicians. That is certainly the case with some of those listed in the Pandora Papers. But we shouldn’t automatically conflate “the superrich” with “the corrupt.” Moreover, since many readers likely believe that a majority of the superrich are tax evaders anyway, these “revelations” merely confirm such preconceived opinions.
But facts do matter. And I am not aware of a single scientific study that has ever established that rich people evade taxes more frequently than everyone else. Naturally, the scale of unpaid taxes with the rich is far greater than that of someone who employs their cleaner on a cash-in-hand basis.
Nevertheless, it is quite possible that a large number of the people whose names are now appearing on front pages around the world have not only never done anything illegal but also nothing that could even be regarded as morally reprehensible. We should do more to differentiate between them and those who are corrupt.
Rainer Zitelmann is a historian and sociologist and the author of The Rich in Public Opinion.
