Mortgaging the Earth: The World Bank, Environmental Impoverishment, and the Crisis of Development

by Bruce Rich

An informed and widely acclaimed critique of the World Bank and its destructive impact on the environment, as well as a questioning of the underlying assumptions and goals of economic development.

"A hard-hitting and authoritative work, useful and provocative." --Christian Science Monitor

"A detailed and thought-provoking look at an important subject from the viewpoint of a passionate advocate." --New York Times Book Review

"You don't have to be a card-carrying green to benefit from this chronicle of how the World Bank became a powerful force for the destruction of the natural environment." --Boston Globe

"This badly needed analysis exposes the destructive alliance between the bank and national governments that, in the name of progress, has plundered natural resources and impoverished millions . . . . [Rich's] merciless evaluation should help provoke an overdue debate about the bank's future." --Business Week

"Rich . . . is right in his criticism of the bank s lending practices on many counts." --Financial Times, London

"A lively synthesis of previously unseen Bank documents, human rights reports, journal articles, economic history, and interviews with former and current Bank staffers." --Village Voice Literary Supplement

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Politics

392 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 1900

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think the World Bank is lending money to "developing" nations to help them, read this book. (It's from the 90's but still relevant.) For thousands of years, farmers around the world have worked collectively and built their own sustainable irrigation systems by hand. But the World Bank steps in and funds massive billion dollar dams that displace the farmers and ruin the environment, in order to provide "energy" that the farmers can't afford to buy. (Read "Cadillac Desert" to get a better understanding of water and dams.) Debtor nations then take out more loans, sometimes using 40 percent of the money to pay back the last loan. The author's only weakness is his failure to acknowledge that the only way for poor nations, and the working poor in the rich nations, to get off this treadmill is to get rid of capitalism.

[Davida "Davi" · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book that helped me learn a lot about the intersection of international political economics and finance and environmentalism and business, going through my books and realized it's from 1994 so although I read it circa 1998-2001 (in college) and it has informed my career, I am ready to part with the book itself. Recommend at this point for a historical perspective of an important transition time in the field!

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!! Didukung data yang lengkap, Bruce mengungkapkan fakta-fakta mengerikan yang terjadi di dunia. Perolehan kekuasaan dibalik kata-kata "perkembangan ekonomi" telah menghancurkan bumi dalam prosesnya. Kita terjebak dalam pemikiran Faustian yang nota bene adalah pemikiran mereka yang mendominasi, seperti mereka yang memimpin Bank Dunia, IMF dll.

[Katie Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading for over a year. I have learned so much; it has reshaped my view of the world. But it is really depressing!