Masters of Illusion: The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations

by Catherine Caufield

Book Overview

This is a history of the World Bank, which was set up in 1945 with the pledge to narrow the gap between the First and Third Worlds, but which has done nothing of the sort. The author argues that the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0330353217
• ISBN13: 9780330353212
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Not Avail
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Failure

The World Bank has not lived up to its own goals and expectations. It had many lofty and laudable goals, but it also had differing directives in its history. The Bank existed on its principles of expectation and intention, not on reality, not on seeing things the way they really were (255-6.)"The Bank's founders envisioned a rosy picture of a future in which its loans would bring economic growth to its borrowers, making their citizens prosperous and increasing world trade, thus reinforcing global prosperity, strengthening the bonds between nations, and creating the climate for a lasting peace. That this picture has not materializes is due both to the false assumptions on which the Bank was established and to the structure of the Bank itself. Perhaps the key assumption underlying the Bank's creation was that there was a condition called underdevelopment and that virtually every country in Asia, Africa and Latin America suffered from it" (333.) The World Bank seems always to have been an organization that looks good on paper; but is quite bad in practice (25.) Many of the World Bank's calculations and plans have been overly optimistic and not investigated thoroughly enough (17.) The World Bank has not been an innovator, but has instead been trying to move along with the status quo (234-5.) In fact the World Bank has been a highly bureaucratic organization, full of red tape, some public embarrassment, and many misguided steps. As said, The World Bank appears highly effective on paper and in plans; in practice, the World Bank leaves a lot to be desired. Basically the World bank has suffered from its slow start as an organization and a lack of continuity in Bank policy. It has also suffered because it bends rules, is susceptible to despots (206-12), and has fallen prey to lending to nations with corrupt governments. Whatever the stated mission of the Bank, poverty is more widespread; the gap between rich and poor is greater. Where the Bank has intervened, in many cases, the quality of life and environment have been compromised. The Bank historically has encountered problems learning from its own mistakes. The Bank's central focus has been based on a set of assumptions it has made about poor countries. "The Bank was assuming that poor countries cannot modernize without money from abroad." This unresearched assumption has led directly to the accumulation of debt and loss of sovereignty for many of the poor nations in the world. Development was a key concept in the founding of the World Bank and the IMF. In hindsight, however, it is easy to ask, "What kind of development?" When the Bank was founded, development consisted largely of dams and other high scale projects that were thought to technologically advance nations and benefit nations overall with easier and cheaper access to electricity, irrigation, regulation of flood waters... meanwhile, there were social and environmental impacts to consider. The Worl

You'll feel less eager to avoid your duties as a citizen.

This book is indeed the result of a very thorough research, while written in a language anybody can understand. The way facts are presented makes this book very interesting to read. Most people from developing countries have a wrong idea, if any, of what the international finance institutions are, the role they play in world economy, and how much they influence our daily lives through structural adjustment programs. With her book, Ms. Caufield unveils the many mysteries of the World Bank. I consider it a valuable tool in our organization's fight for more environmentally and socially adequate World Bank-financed projects. I really recommend you all to read this book very carefully, with the same interest of one who follows a criminal trial closely. You will feel annoyed or even sad by the weight of evidence, and amazed by how disastrously planned and implemented a project can be. After reading this book, you'll feel less eager to avoid your duties as a citizen. In summary, it's definitely worth it!

Eye opening!

There is so much in this book that everyone should read. It is by far one of the most eye opening books around. It helps to explain our economic situation of today and how we got to where we are. It is easy to see why the rich keep getting richer and the poor continue to pay the price. Clearly some of the facts are presented in a way that will direct us towards the conclusions that the author would like us to draw. Keeping that in mind this is a very well written book that should be read by everyone that is concerned about the future of economics.

A solid critical analysis at an important time in history.

Catherine Caufield's analysis of the activities of the World Bank is like a breath of fresh air in the development industry. At a time when even simple debate on the philosophical underpinnings of economic development theory have been snowed under by the blizzard of propaganda\rhetoric that the Bank's type of free market oriented structural adjustment programs and development schemes are the "only" way forward for the third world, the facts and historical record suggests the contrary. Not only does Caufield provide insight into how the bank operates internally, the negative impact of its work on the people and nations that are supposedly being helped, but she uses langauage that even non-economists can understand. Although I differ with the conclusions she draws from her research, as an economist working in Africa I can definitely support her facts and observations about the contradictory nature of the World Bank's publically stated goals\objectives and its actual track record of results. Where I differ with Caufield is that in my view, the World Bank, its role and functions were never intended to help the world's poor to develop, due the vary nature of the bank itself, and its role in the global capitalist system. Caufield's documentation of the continued impoverishment of the developing world over the past 50 years via World Bank sponsored activities demonstrates the fundamental results of the structural position of developing nations in the global market and the relationships between wealthy elites in the North and their subservient counterparts in the South. The problems of poverty in the South resulting from such structural relationships can and will never be addressed by altering or reforming institutions like the Bank. It requires structural changes in the system as a whole, its institutions, and the nature of relationships between the nations who make up the global economy. I strongly encourage those with an interest in obtaining an objective alternative introduction to the World Bank and the "development industry" as a whole to read this book.