The Debt System

Description

"Maintream economists tell us that developing countries will replicate the economic achievements of the rich countries if they implement the correct "free-market" policies. The authors demonstrate that this is patently false. Drawing on a wealth of detailed evidence, they explain how developed economies have systematically and deliberately exploited the less-developed economies by forcing them into unequal trade and political relationships. Integral to this arrangement are the international economic institutions ostensibly created to safeguard the stability of the global economy--the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank--and the imposition of massive foreign debt on poor countries. The authors explain in simple language, and ample use of graphics, the multiple contours of this exploitative system, its history, and how it continues to function in the present day. Ultimately, Toussaint and Millet advocate cancellation of all foreign debt for developing countries and provide arguments from a number of perspectives--legal, economic, moral."--Publisher.;Human rights, development, and debt -- The origin of the debt in developing countries -- The debt crisis -- The IMF, the World Bank, and the logic of structural adjustment -- Other international players : the PARIS CLUB and the WTO -- The structure of developing countries' debt -- Deciphering the official discourse on debt relief -- The sham of the dominant model -- Debt cancellations and suspensions of payment in the past -- The case for canceling the debt of developing countries -- Issues raised by canceling the debt of the developing countries -- Constructing radical alternatives -- International campaign for debt cancellation.