In assessing the role of the multilateral international institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the OECD, one has to have an idea of what their purpose is. The IMF was created to provide funding support to nations under the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates when their trading accounts endangered their capacity to sustain the agreed parities. After the system collapsed in August 1971 (effectively), the IMF had no further purpose. It reinvented itself as a neo-liberal attack dog on government intervention, and, as such, has no progressive (productive) role to play and should be scrapped. Similarly, the World Bank. The OECD was created (as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC)) to manage the Marshall Plan funds that Canada and the US provided to reconstruct Europe at the end of World War II. It has similarly outlived its productive purpose and is now a major source of disinformation. Even in the realm of fiction, there are much better fiction writers than exist within the bowels of the OECD in Paris. Its latest entreaty, specifically – Using the fiscal levers to escape the low-growth trap – from the exemplifies the way in which the OECD chooses to perpetuate myths about government policy options, even when its message might appear reasonable to progressive eyes and ears. That is the problem really, by buying into the neo-liberal scam that mainstream economists have been running for the last 3 or 4 decades, progressive politicians and their apparatchiks have no room to move and will applaud the OECD’s current message, not realising how destructive that complicity becomes. That has been the problem all along and Trump, Brexit and the rising extremism in Europe is the outcome. Reap what you sow!Bill Mitchell – billy blog
Poor fiction from the OECD – the organisation should be abolished
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
3 comments:
"That is the problem really, by buying into the neo-liberal scam that mainstream economists have been running for the last 3 or 4 decades, progressive politicians "
Textbook cognitive dissonance....
I dont get your criticism at all Matt.
Outside of your noted dislike of the term neoliberal (some of which I agree with) how can you take issue with Mitchell essentially saying 'These institutions which were ostensibly created as a way to achieve greater international cooperation and improve commerce, are in fact just another tool of those forces which want only to enrich those currently enriched" ?
All the zero sum, gold standard, loanable funds, savings creates investment, govts need to get funding from the people, type thinking is apparent in the all press releases of these organizations.
He is saying its a 'scam' with no evidence....
Greg, These are the people who the top people there say shit like "well, you gotta dance while the music is playing!" and other idiot shit all the time... they couldnt fix a parking ticket...
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