Peter Marshall's Blog

International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Central Bank

By Peter Marshall

These financial institutions are entirely undemocratic and wish to create a world of laissez-faire economics and unadulterated capitalism. They are owned by international shareholders and governments. They are run by what a friend has called the ‘Lords of Poverty’, by men and women who receive huge salaries and pensions and have the most lavish lifestyles while lending to the poorest and most wretched countries of the world.

Their actions are like a man who gives champagne to an alcoholic as long as he holds up the distant prospect of repayment – at a profit

Wherever they go, they dismantle protective tariffs, open up markets to foreign goods and investors, cut back on welfare and introduce austerity. The beneficiaries are politicians,military officers, business owners and shareholders. The losers are the workers, the dispossessed, the poor and the wretched.

These financial institutions undermine the initiative of local people and create dependency on rich foreign clients. They talk about introducing liberal democracy but have greater budgets than some national governments and are entirely unelected themselves. It is simply a case of the rich – whether they be governments or individuals – making themselves richer, and the poor, poorer.

Why is it that one per cent of the world’s swelling population own 99 per cent of the wealth?

I argue that it is better to live in a world which is decentralized, self-sufficient, sustainable and in harmony with the environment. It is better to create a free, equal and ecological society. Many have tried super-states, transnational corporations and international financial institutions and failed dismally; now is a time do without them.

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