World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Horst Kobler

IMF and World Bank:
the international business of privatisation

Nipawin - Tuesday - September 23, 2003 - by: Mario deSantis

"The Social Responsibilty of Business is to Increase Its Profits"

Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, The Chicago School

"Instead of developing the Third World, it is clear that the Third World dependency is a policy of the major powers, and the world leaders insist on restricting consumer buying power in the Third World as a price for what is essentially maintenance loans."

J.W. Smith, economist

concern
for U.S.

I am a kind of curious fellow, and as I read that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is concerned about the predicament of the US's budget and trade deficits and related effects on the world economy I become a bit cynical.

 

 

U.S.
controls
IMF

I am sadly laughing as I find out that the IMF is composed of 184 countries and that its board is composed of one governor from each country, each country having different voting weights. The United States has the highest voting weight of 17.14 percent while the second highest is Japan with a voting weight of 6.15 percent.

 

 

currencies & trade

The main objective of the IMF is to provide the needed international assistance to promote the stability of the international currencies and promote the growth of international trade.

 

 

World
Bank
same as
IMF

The World Bank works in conjunction with the IMF and its main objective is
"to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results."
The World Bank has 184 member countries as well and it has practically the same organization as the IMF.

 

 

privatisation

Now, as dogmatic privatisation has engulfed all the countries of this world (privatization in China has not been dogmatic) and as this privatisation has been accomplished with the significant assistance of the banking system, I have strong reservations about how the IMF and the World Bank can provide the needed assistance to any country to help themselves as the beneficiaries of such assistance are ultimately the banks and the privateers.

 

 

I don't
think
so

This is why dogmatic privatization has increased the gap between the privateers and the rest of us. Anyhow, I apologize for my cynicism about the effectiveness of the IMF and the World Bank in trying to assist the "so called" developing countries in becoming developed countries. But can developing countries become developed countries under the Chicago boys of the Free Market and the present international functioning of the IMF and World Bank? I don't think so.
   
 

Mario deSantis

   
   
References:
  Pertinent articles published in Ensign
   
  Friedman, Milton The Social Responsibilty of Business is to Increase Its Profits September 13, 1970 The New York Times Magazine, http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/dunnweb/rprnts.friedman.html
   
  Smith, J.W. The World's Wasted Wealth 2, Global Issues,
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/Scale.asp
   
  IMF-International Monetary Fund
http://www.imf.org/
   
  The World Bank group
http://www.worldbank.org
   
  Denny, Charlotte and Larry Elliott IMF warns trade gap could bring down dollar September 19, 2003 The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4756685-110878,00.html
   
  Kangas, Steve The Chicago boys and the Chilean 'economic miracle' http://www.parallelo-distance.net/shared/The_Chicago_boys.html
   
  Al Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, Exerpts for the plenary: Call for a fairer world, September 24, 2003, Gulf News, Dubai
(Same article as a PDF)
   
  Nair, Manoj, World Bank-IMF meetings attract over 15,000 people, September 24, 2003, Gulf News, dubia
   
  Melly, Paul, Gailani sees no need to rush with privatisation, September 24, 2003, Gulf News, Dubia
(Same article as a PDF)
   

 

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