INTRODUCTION/3of the text itself, whenever there is a quotation or one or more authors
is referred to, we have noted in parentheses the name of the author,
the year of publication of the work and, when appropriate, the page
number. You will also find an annotated chronology at the end of the
book on the relationship between the World Bank and IMF, on the
one hand, and the Third World on the other.
All comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcome, to make
the book easier to understand, to correct oversights and to rectify
mistakes that escaped the author's attention.
THE BOOK'S THESES
- From the 1980s onwards, we have seen a worldwide process of
massive impoverishment on a massive scale resulting from a
series of deliberate policies collectively referred to as 'neo-
liberalism'. The book backs up this statement with a critical
analysis of statistics provided by, among others, the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, the
IMF and the OECD; and with observations made by the author,
who has made several study trips through Third World
countries, Eastern Europe, North America and Western Europe
(Chapter 1). - Globalisation (see glossary) is part and parcel of the deregulation
of capital markets implemented by the governments of the main
economic powers and by the multilateral financial institutions
that serve them (the World Bank, the IMF, the Bank of
International Settlements; see glossary) (Chapter 1). - Globalisation has meant a growing financialisation (see
glossary) of the economy in every country in the world, to such
a degree that some writers speak of the 'tyranny' of financial
markets that considerably reduces the margin for manoeuvre of
government policy-makers. This does not mean, however, that
we have reached the point of no return. Financial markets can
be disciplined once again if governments decide to do so. - Globalisation is not a purely economic process. It has been dra
matically accelerated by the policies consciously pursued by a
growing number of governments in the wake of the Reagan and
Thatcher experiences in the early 1980s. Successive
governments have deliberately diminished the possibility of
public intervention in the economy (Chapters 1 and 4).