Description
The World Bank is a controversial organisation. It is widely viewed with suspicion, as the international economic arm of the US, in thrall to the President who is responsible for appointing the head of the Bank.
Eric Toussaint gives a highly readable account of just why the World Bank has become so powerful. In short, clear chapters he shows how the bank operates, who funds it, and what it sets out to promote.
The Bank's main purpose is to grant loans to all the newly independent states of the developing world, to help them on their journey to recovery after colonial occupation. In reality, the conditions imposed on these states - including enforced privatisation of all public services, and enforced neo-liberal rules on trade - mean that the Bank has become the new colonial authority in everything but name.
About the Author
Eric Toussaint is a historian and political scientist with a PhD from the Universities of Paris VIII and Liege. He is spokesperson for the CADTM (Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt) of which he is one of the founding members. He took part in the process that launched the World Social Forum in 2001. He is the author of numerous books, including The Debt System; Bankocracy, and Debt, the IMF, and the World Bank: Sixty Questions, Sixty Answers.
Reviews
'Studies the evolution of the debt of Southern countries with painstaking precision and patience' -- Jean Ziegler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Author of numerous books, including L'empire de la honte (The Empire of Shame), 2005.
'Eric Toussaint has once again provided absolutely critical information. Anyone concerned with how excessive Northern wealth flows from sustained Southern poverty needs this analysis' -- Patrick Bond, Director, University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society, Durban, South Africa
Book Information
ISBN 9780745327136
Author Eric Toussaint
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Pluto Press
Publisher Pluto Press
Weight(grams) 412g
Eric Toussaint gives a highly readable account of just why the World Bank has become so powerful. In short, clear chapters he shows how the bank operates, who funds it, and what it sets out to promote.
The Bank's main purpose is to grant loans to all the newly independent states of the developing world, to help them on their journey to recovery after colonial occupation. In reality, the conditions imposed on these states - including enforced privatisation of all public services, and enforced neo-liberal rules on trade - mean that the Bank has become the new colonial authority in everything but name.
About the Author
Eric Toussaint is a historian and political scientist with a PhD from the Universities of Paris VIII and Liege. He is spokesperson for the CADTM (Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt) of which he is one of the founding members. He took part in the process that launched the World Social Forum in 2001. He is the author of numerous books, including The Debt System; Bankocracy, and Debt, the IMF, and the World Bank: Sixty Questions, Sixty Answers.
Reviews
'Studies the evolution of the debt of Southern countries with painstaking precision and patience' -- Jean Ziegler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Author of numerous books, including L'empire de la honte (The Empire of Shame), 2005.
'Eric Toussaint has once again provided absolutely critical information. Anyone concerned with how excessive Northern wealth flows from sustained Southern poverty needs this analysis' -- Patrick Bond, Director, University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society, Durban, South Africa
Book Information
ISBN 9780745327136
Author Eric Toussaint
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Pluto Press
Publisher Pluto Press
Weight(grams) 412g
