Rethinking Global Finance (I)

Most of the time we find ourselves preoccupied with personal and local issues with reference to developing sustainable lifestyles. In one sense that is appropriate because it is the sum of many individual choices that changes lifestyles generally in a region like Southeastern Manitoba. On occasion it is helpful, however, to raise our eyes to the global dynamics that either hinder or enhance sustainable lifestyles around the world.

Ever since World War II, two agencies that have impacted millions around the world are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They were created to assist developing countries to become economically viable. The World Bank would loan developing countries money for major projects designed to stimulate their economies. If a country had difficulty paying its debt, the IMF could be called upon for advice, additional monies or loan guarantees.

That was the theory. In reality it quickly became apparent that these agencies were the handmaidens of established governments and large corporations. In short, the following story was repeated around the globe: The World Bank persuaded developing countries to borrow money for projects to boost their economies. The money went directly to international corporations to build the projects but the debt was unloaded onto the developing country. When these loans could not be paid, the IMF came in to call for “structural adjustments” in exchange for debt reduction or further loan guarantees. These adjustments consisted of the three kingpins of neo-liberalism: privatization of public utilities, deregulation of industries and cuts to social spending. This, in turn, created an environment for international corporations to move in for the kill. (If you don’t believe this scenario, read “Confessions of an Economic Hitman,” by John Perkins, and “Shock Doctrine,” by Naomi Klein.)

This environment created a dynamic in which wealth inevitably flowed upward. The number of billionaires around the world began to mushroom while abject poverty continued largely unabated. And now even developed countries are beginning to look to the IMF to rescue their faltering economies. With most of the world’s wealth now in a few private hands, it is becoming clear that economies around the world are in deep trouble.

It is in this context that the World Bank and the IMF are attempting to re-invent themselves because the present trajectory is simply not sustainable. For the first time in history the president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, is not an economist but an anthropologist and medical doctor who appears to be prepared to challenge status quo thinking at the World Bank. And the IMF is presently studying a paper proposing that extractive industries like oil and mining be taxed at a higher rate than other industries.

The IMF and the World Bank have a virtual monopoly on giving advice to governments about public finance and a whole lot else. So there is reason for optimism that the new winds blowing through these organizations will help to bring a greater degree of sustainability for economies around the world. More about this in two weeks.

Jack Heppner