- scumbag to take his place, and the World Bank will continue on its mission of perpetuating the global hierarchy.
[WS:] I am surprised that you wrote that, Doug. The Bank no more perpetuates the global hierarchy than, say, the markings on the speedometer gauge control the speed of the car. The hierarchy would be maintained even if the Bank did not exist. What determines the position in that hierarchy is the amount of resources a country can produce, and those low on the totem pole do not - and cannot - produce much, hence they are low on the totem pole.
China, India, Korea or Thailand are global powers not because the Bank sez so, but because they can produce and sell a lot. What is more, if the Banks sez something that India, China, Korea, or Thailand do not like, these countries are in a position to tell the Bank to fuck itself, and have done so in the past.
The only countries that can be bossed around by the Banks are a handful of the poorest Third World countries that depend on loans and aid to shore up their economies - but then _anyone_ can boss around such countries. As they say, beggars cannot be choosers.
Wojtek