In defence of the World Bank / Book review

Sebastian Mallaby:
The World’s Banker
A Story of Failed States,
Financial Crises, and the Wealth
and Poverty of Nations
East Rutherford, NJ: Penguin USA, 2004,
400 pages, ISBN 1594200238

Sebastian Mallaby is a bit of a polemicist. His book is all the more readable for it, but he also runs the risk of rubbing readers the wrong way. Some non-governmental activists will probably have a hard time stomaching his ridicule. The British journalist describes how he discovered much different conditions on the construction site of an African dam than the International Rivers Network had depicted. Because the California based organization also proved to be of little help when he wanted to do local research, Mallaby dubs it the “Berkeley Mafia”.

The columnist from the Washington Post covers controversial issues with this sarcastic tenor. He hits NGOs where it hurts most when he finds the credibility of some doubtful, because their campaigns and their fundraising in rich countries thrive on fundamentally criticising the Bretton Woods institutions. He does, however, acknowledge that Oxfam and other organisations are doing useful work in the Third World.

While Mallaby is indeed sceptical about the merits of left-leaning civil society, his intention to defend the World Bank against attacks by the right wing in the US is as least as noteworthy. Of course, debates on how to fight poverty are worthwhile, but it should be clear that the World Bank has an important role to play and that our planet would not be a better place without this multilateral institution.

Mallaby describes how James Wolfensohn spent ten years steering the World Bank towards a more progressive course. The former investment banker took to heart the arguments of NGOs in the 1980s, which Mallaby finds appropriate. Wolfensohn stressed issues as poverty, corruption, local responsibility, and later HIV/AIDS. These strategic choices set the President of the World Bank apart from conventional free market ideologists. Nonetheless, according to Mallaby, Wolfensohn’s ambition, vanity, and sharp temper lessened his success.

Mallaby is a skilled writer, capable of communicating background information through anecdotes. Unfortunately, though, he does tend to tell over-detailed stories instead of providing analyses. That is why some parts of his book read like yet another epic tale of a management hero meant to excite MBA students. In this case, less would have been more.

Hans Dembowski