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

Structural adjustment is not just an 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 its 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 the response from African churches and social movements representing voices of resistance and providing an alternative vision.