Doug raises an interesting issue, about what appears to be a growing relationship between Wolfensohn and people like Doug Hellinger. Here is my take on what is happening: I think that the marketization policies of the WB and the IMF (along with capitalist governments) has succeeded in forcing many governments to reduce their intervention in economic activity. The result is growign inequality and social and environmental tensions. I think that the WB and the IMF now worry that those tensions might well lead to a counterattack against capital's freedoms. Rather than support the strengthening of the state and national renewal programs they want to take care of the poorest of the poor to dampen the likelihood of trouble. In other words they now recognize the fact that their policies have created poverty. They recognize that the poverty could lead to social movemtns that would threaten capital and capitalism and so they want to move to deal with the problem. The answer for them is some kind of global saftey net. In other words just make sure that the "side-effects" do not get too serious. They therefore are willing to work with NGOs who are also worried about mass poverty. In working with the NGOs, however, these institutions are not interested in broad based structural changes. They are seeking to coop the NGOs to create more effective anti-poverty program to ensure that the bigger gains remain. That is why the shared concern is over the poorest of the poor, the very bottom of the income distribution. Unfortunately, as I see it, the NGOs are too eager to gain respectability and to make some important but marginal changes in the way the global capialist system operates. They have lost sight of the bigger picture/struggle. Of course the entire operation is of some risk to the WB. They always run the danger of legitimizing new ways of judging "success." Given their budgets and publicity machines I think their risk in this is pretty small. Marty Hart-Landsberg On Thu, 3 Oct 1996, Doug Henwood wrote: > Just talked to a journalist friend who's covering the World Bank/IMF > meetings in Washington. He reports a remarkable change of rhetoric coming > out of at least part of the WB - notably from the Bank President, James > Wolfensohn, himself and the VP for Latin America, whose name escapes me. > They're saying that their anti-poverty strategy of the last 30 years has > failed, and that GDP growth doesn't reduce poverty. Wolfensohn said this > morning that he's working with "people like Doug Hellinger" (of the > Development Gap, a long-time critic of official development policy) on > rethinking the WB approach. My friend also said that the 50 Years is Enough > people aren't protesting visbly, as they have in the past, but they've been > brought almost completely inside now, roaming the halls, yakking with > bigwigs, etc. > > The new line is causing some distress among the WB's economists, and in the > IMF, but probably wouldn't be vented without the approval of the U.S. > Treasury. > > Any thoughts? > > > Doug > > -- > > Doug Henwood > Left Business Observer > 250 W 85 St > New York NY 10024-3217 > USA > +1-212-874-4020 voice > +1-212-874-3137 fax > email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > web: <http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html> > > >
