On the World Bank as an agent of economic imperialism

Abstract

After more than 60 years of 'international cooperation for development' (foreign aid) the results have been negligible. Given this momentous and continued failure of the global war on poverty, led by the World Bank, this thesis raises and addresses serious questions about the dynamics of the World Bank-led campaigns aimed at redressing the problem. It is argued that the World Bank's stated agenda of fighting poverty is an ideological cover for its hidden agenda to advance powerful economic and geopolitical interests of the United States, that is, the World Bank in effect is organized as an agency of U.S. imperialism.

This thesis explores the political economy of the World Bank's War on Poverty through the application of development aid and investment, and resulting debt and capital repatriation, with special focus on the nature of the imperial state. Evidence is provided to support the argument that the World Bank's 'war on poverty' is ineffective in reaching the targets set forth in the Millennium Development Goals precisely because poverty alleviation is not its main concern or real agenda. The policies that the World Bank has espoused in the name of 'globalization' and 'development', in the guise of 'international cooperation for development', have advanced the interests of powerful economic and political interests within the U.S. imperial state rather than the world's poor. It is argued that this is not incidental but rather a reflection of the imperialist agenda behind the World Bank's policies.