"Objection: Muhammad Yunus is not Jesus Christ Almighty. His presidency might not represent a real break from the policies of the Washington Consensus.
To which the answer is: if so, that makes him a better candidate. If you are trying to overturn a dictatorship, you don't necessarily run the most progressive candidate. You might run a candidate who can unite all the democratic forces. After you've run the dictatorship out of town, there will be plenty of opportunities for food fights among the democratic forces."
I also figured that my "brief resume" of Yunus' qualifications would make clear that I was not arguing that he was the greatest thing since sliced bread:
"Here is a brief resume of Yunus' qualifications for this position:
* He is an economist.
* He won the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 in conjunction with the Grameen Bank, for efforts to extend credit to the poor.
* He is not an American."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/1/123630/4493
> From: Patrick Bond <pbond at mail.ngo.za>
> To: PEN-L list <PEN-L at SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU>, lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2007 08:35:36 +0900
> Subject: [lbo-talk] Announcing Muhammad Yunus' Candidacy to Head the World Bank
> Robert Naiman wrote:
> > Announcing Muhammad Yunus' Candidacy to Head the World Bank Hotlist
> > by Robert Naiman Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 09:43:04 AM PDT
> > http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/1/123630/4493 (with poll)
>
> No thanks, comrade Robert...
>
>
> International Journal of Health Services
> <http://baywood.metapress.com/app/home/journal.asp?referrer=searchresults&id=300313&backto=searcharticlesresults,11,53;>
>
> Issue: Volume 37, Number 2 / 2007
> <http://baywood.metapress.com/app/home/issue.asp?referrer=searchresults&id=Q27L32T00T58&backto=searcharticlesresults,11,53;>
>
> Pages: 229 - 249
> *URL:* Linking Options
> <http://baywood.metapress.com/app/home/linking.asp?referrer=linking&target=contribution&id=9160Q66727253412&backto=contribution,1,1;searcharticlesresults,11,53;>
>
>
> *Microcredit Evangelism, Health, and Social Policy*
>
> *Abstract:*
>
> The awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus, founder of
> the Grameen Bank, provides an opportunity to consider the use and abuse
> of microfinancing, especially because credit continues to be touted as a
> poverty-reduction strategy associated with health education and health
> care financing strategies. Not only is the Grameen diagnosis of poverty
> dubious, but many structural problems also plague the model, ranging
> from financial accounting to market failures. In Southern Africa, to
> illustrate, microcredit schemes for peasants and small farmers have been
> attempted for more than 70 years, on the basis that modern capitalism
> and peasant/informal system gaps can be bridged by an expanded financial
> system. The results have been disappointing. A critical reading of
> political economy posits an organic linkage between the "developed" and
> "underdeveloped" economies that is typically not mitigated by capitalist
> financial markets, but instead is often exacerbated. When applied to
> health and social policy, microcredit evangelism becomes especially
> dangerous.
>
>
> (full is available offlist from pbond at mail.ngo.za)