Originally Posted by
Rex Brynen
On the other hand, almost no one--not even in the World Bank or IMF—believes that unrestricted free markets are a good thing, or that you can get equitable and sustainable growth without effective state institutions to provide an enabling environment (rule of law, anti-corruption measures, security, critical infrastructure, education, health, social safety nets, environmental regulation, enforcement of labour standards, etc). It is also important that stakeholder consultation be done properly, ideally through a political system that is responsive to the needs of all affected groups, not just those with money.
The World Bank in particular has made major adjustments in the way it works, partly because of external and internal criticism, and partly out of learning from experience. The IMF remains more of a bastion of narrow classical economics, but critics miss the point that it should be—it is an institution that is all about promoting fiscal solvency. In doing so it provides a useful reminder of the dangers of unsustainable state expenditure. Think of the IMF as your parents: No, they weren't always right, and certainly not very cool, but in retrospect aren't you glad they lectured/reminded/nagged you at times?
Sadly, it was the case that some of the initial US development personnel in Iraq—political appointees or recent hires in most cases, not career USAID folks— were ideologically blinkered neoliberal/neocons, who treated it as a bit of a sandbox for ideas about radical privatization. Almost none of this worked out very well, and much of it was later abandoned or revised.
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