The World Bank and the Reduction of Poverty

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the World Bank's central goal is to alleviate poverty in the Third World. It hopes to achieve this task by making low interest loans to the governments of developing countries. The writer discusses whether this aim has been achieved and various points of criticism the bank has been open to recently.

From the Paper:

"Recently, the World Bank has endured a barrage of criticisms. These come from many sources; not only has the Bank's headquarters in Washington, DC become the focus of anti-globalization agitators, environmentalists, neo-Marxists and the proponents of sustainable government but it has also fallen under the axe of conservatives and libertarian organizations such as the DC-based Cato Institute. Banner-wielding Marxists claim that the Bank is an agent of imperialism, and echo Lenin's criticism of British Imperialism: "Imperialism has the tendency to create privileged sections also among the workers, and to detach them from the broad masses of the proletariat." (Lenin, 1916) In an article written by Cato's former fiscal policy director, Stephen Moore, now with the Club for Growth, "the protesters in front of the World Bank and IMF buildings were right: These institutions should be closed pronto." (Moore, September 25th 2000) However, the organization has its backers, who believe that a well-funded international organization can cure poverty by lending to these countries' elected or appointed leaders."

More papers on The World Bank and the Reduction of Poverty:

• Argumentative Essay # 148130 : "Global Poverty"
• Essay # 74011 : "The IMF, World Bank and the Anti-Globalization Movement"
• Research Paper # 91331 : "Domestic Implications of Debt Relief"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: