The World Bank is an immensely powerful institution. This study ranges from personal criticism of the central players to a more reflective discussion of the blind faith characteristic of development economics based on the idea of perpetual growth.

Although it claims to be a purely economic institution, the Bank wields enormous political power and has succeeded in making its own view of development appear to be the norm.In this richly illuminating and lively overview, Susan George and Fabrizio Sabelli examine the Banks policies, its internal culture, and the interests it serves. They reveal a supranational, nondemocratic, and extremely powerful institution that functions much like the medieval church or a monolithic political party, relying on rigid doctrine, hierarchy, and a rejection of dissenting ideas to perpetuate its influence. Its faith in orthodox economics, the idea of perpetual growth, and the capacity of the market to solve development problems is incompatible with its professed goals of helping the poor and protecting the environment. Faced with these contradictions, the Bank is increasingly struggling to reconcile the roles of commercial lender, policymaker, and great humanitarian. This book is crucial reading for anyone interested in development and economy of the Third World, especially for international, political, and development economists. }

Introduction and Basics
In the Beginning
The Other Ancestor
Structural Salvation
False Prophesies
The Fundamentalist Freedom Fighter
L'Esprit de Corps
Governance: The Last Refuge?
The Environmental Battlefield
Intellectual Leadership and the H Street Heretics
Ruling the Realm
The Bank Perceived: Images and Self-Images
Conclusion: "The Thing"