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The Market Tells Them So
The World Bank and Economic Fundamentalism in Africa

by John Mihevc
Third World Network & ZED Books
ISBN: 983-9747-15-0
316 pages
14x21.5cm
Third World: US$10.00; Others:US$15.00

Structural adjustment is not just economic strategy designed to assist countries in addressing technical problems related to trade, growth and the balance of payments. It embodies also, this author argues, a social, cultural and even quasi-religious vision for the remaking of Africa and the world. John Mihevc focuses on three aspects of structural adjustment in particular. He provides an entirely innovative characterization of World Bank thinking as essentially fundamentalist in the scale of ambitions, its ignoring of the complexities of social reality, and its denial of the legitimacy of contrary views of development. He gives a trenchant account of the criticisms which World Bank policies have elicited. And he considers that response from African churches and social movements representing voices of resistance and providing an alternative vision.

"Free of academic jargon, this book focuses on the World Bank's deleterious impact on Africa, criticising a spurious doctrine whose implications also go well beyond Africa. Let us hope that it drives another nail into the coffin of structural adjustment."
Susan George

"A creative, challenging and very rich work...a 'must' for theologians and social scientists alike."
Rev. Jonah Katoneene, Executive Director, Association of Christian Lay Centres in Africa.

"The church in Africa welcomes this book. It is ideal in that it demystifies economics [and] affirms it as a matter of faith."
Omega Bula, All Africa Conference of Churches.

 


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