The “Epstein files” are usually squeezed into one of two boxes: a gossip labyrinth fed by hunger for conspiracy theories, or a moral tale reduced to a “bad man” narrative. But these files are a textbook on how the capitalist state actually works. More precisely, it exposes the rotten nature of the lives of the rich and infamous, while revealing the patriarchal operations of the capitalist state and the architecture of impunity it constructs for the ruling class, in a particularly naked form. It is, in that sense, a laboratory of “elite crime.”
That is why the issue is far bigger than any individual. Epstein is not an exception; he is a symptom of a social order that routinizes “exceptions” for the ruling elite.
Not a scandal, but a class regime: how does “elite crime” become possible?
The core scene of the Epstein case is well known: the targeting of underage girls, systematic abuse, and the networks built around it. Yet the clarity of the crime exposes a second truth: elite impunity is enabled not only by money, but by access to state institutions securing the “flexibility” of law, and the management of media and reputation. The fact that, to this day, and after all the publicity and public reaction, the files are not publicized speaks volumes about the level of the cover-up operation.
It reveals that the state is not an abstract “referee”, as neoliberals claim, standing above classes and securing the basic rule of law. For those close to the ruling class, law often functions less as an absolute barrier and more like something to meddle with. The imagery of “private jets” and “private islands” is, at bottom, a symbol of private treatment. As Eduardo Galeano put it “Justice is like a snake: it only bites the barefooted.”
From a feminist standpoint, one point is crucial: in such cases, the vulnerability of survivors is not accidental. Poverty, precarity, domestic violence, the housing crisis, migration status, and the burdens of care expand the “hunting ground” of abuse. Women of the working class and the oppressed layers are pushed into a situation where they become prey for vultures. This is not simply individual “deception.” Vulnerability produced and enhanced by capitalism becomes a weapon in the hands of the patriarchal workings of capitalists.
The patriarchal nature of the capitalist state: promise of protection, practice of discipline
The state presents itself as “protector” for the most vulnerable. In truth, the state mostly protects the interests of the ruling class, and sometimes maybe intervenes to limit some of its excesses, with the view of maintaining its stability. In this process still, women and other marginalized groups are treated with even greater bias. Violence against women and children is typically pushed into the “private sphere,” delegated to the family or some NGO’s, heard late, taken seriously even later. By contrast, the “risks” for the capitalist class are managed faster: reputational crises are dealt with through the use of financial entanglements, political connections and international networks.
The Epstein file invites us to understand the state’s “delay” in handling such cases not as a malfunction but as a mode of operation. Violence is often addressed only when it becomes visible enough to threaten “public order,” with the aim to be contained within a manageable framework.
Neoliberalism and the privatization of violence: the dark proof that “the personal is political”
In recent times, as the Epstein files showcase, abuse by the people in power is happening inside the fortified space of “private property” and “private networks.” Private security, armies of lawyers, non-disclosure agreements, reputation-management firms… These are the modern armors woven around the ruling class’ sexual crimes.
Here the feminist slogan “the private is political” is confirmed once again. Cases like Epstein show that the private sphere is not outside society. It remains “private” exactly because it is protected by mechanisms that cover up the elite’s crimes.
Why are conspiracy narratives so attractive? Because people do not believe the state is “neutral”
The persistence of talk about “client lists,” “high-level names,” and “deep networks” is not accidental. It is totally possible that the names thrown around are guilty of using Epstein’s “services”. But, it is also possible that some of these narratives can be unproven, or proven speculative. They can even be smoke and mirrors to mislead public opinion. Yet, such narratives gain traction for a reason: people do not believe the state is neutral in the face of elites, and that disbelief is rooted in their experience.
The task of the Left is not to open the door to conspiracy theories, but to pull this intuition onto political ground: to move the question from “who was there” (which we may never come to know) to “how was it made possible.” That does not mean to imply that the struggle for the actual truth to come out and the real perpetrators to be brought to justice should be underestimated in any way, shape or form. But we have to also put forward the idea that as long as the regime of impunity remains intact, new Epsteins will be produced.
The struggle for real justice
This anger is the fuel behind the cry for punishment of all the perpetrators. We join our voices with those who fight for all involved parties to be properly condemned in courts and in the public sphere, to pay for their actions.
It is true that the Far-Right is using cases of corruption to promote its “law and order” agenda, trying to capitalize on popular anger. But more police, more jails, harsher punishments will not bring justice to working class people. In the framework of the capitalist system, these tools will be used against the oppressed and not against the oppressors.
So, the demand for justice and proper punishment for the perpetrators should be coupled with the demand to build an infrastructure of accountability that can actually weaken class and gender oppression. Survivor-centered justice systems should not be limited to the courtroom. Housing, income security, social services, free psychosocial support, child protection infrastructure, safe work, and safe migration pathways are also part of justice.
True justice involves challenging structures that make impunity possible. This can only be achieved through struggle to ensure popular involvement (through workers unions, civil society organisations, movements, ect) in the mechanisms that respond to gender violence (eg through the election of judges and jury courts on all levels, special first respondent units for rape complaints comprised not of policemen but of social workers/psychologists, ect)
The international dimension: the “dirty flows”
The Epstein files also reveal the dark underside of “high society” networks rooted in the capitalist core. The international liquidity of capital produces a parallel liquidity for criminal networks: tax havens, offshore accounts, cross-border finance, elite social spaces, global real estate and tourism. These are also accompanied by trafficking networks as “rewards” or used for blackmail. .
For that reason, the case cannot be narrowed into an “American domestic issue.” Across the world, neoliberal programs that deepen women’s and children’s vulnerability, the dismantling of social protection, precarious labor, wars and forced displacement expand the global terrain of exploitation and abuse. The imperial order functions not only through bombs, but through social collapse, debt, unemployment, and housing crises. Patriarchy is flourishing on this terrain.
Conclusion: Shifting Epstein from “private corruption” to regime critique
The Epstein files offer a lesson on class power: capitalism does not only produce violence; it also produces the institutions that manage violence, sometimes by suppressing it, sometimes through bargaining, sometimes by delaying, sometimes by rendering it invisible. A socialist feminist perspective must politicize this case along three axes: targeting the regime of impunity; stopping the production of vulnerability; and aiming to topple patriarchy and capitalism.
The Epstein files do not tell us about a monster, but about a regime.
