Easterly: A Critical Analysis

Superior Essays
To perform a critical assessment of Easterly’s assertion that: “The conventional approach to economic development, to making poor countries rich, is based on a technocratic illusion: the belief that poverty is a purely technical problem amenable to technical solutions [and that it] ignores… the real cause of poverty – the unchecked power of the state,” one must dissect Easterly’s comment into two parts: 1) the wrongs of the technocratic solution and 2) the viability of the argument that it is the lack of rights that is so burdensome and evocative of poverty. This short response will achieve and validate both claims by considering the premises and effects of both the technocratic illusion and the power of giving power back to the people, and …show more content…
These debts are largely owed not only to the Western banks and international organizations (like the World Bank) but also now to investments bank who have bought up the debt with an intent to sue to collect repayment – thereby getting fat off the backs of the poor (as the rest of the West has done). This short response will address critically the two main causes of this growing debt: 1) the oil crisis led by OPEC which was led by Saudi Arabia and 2) Reagan’s interest rate hikes as well as effects this disaster has had on the developing countries and the global south …show more content…
The IMF and World Bank ultimately imposed structural adjustment plants that involved heavy austerity, meaning that these countries would tighten the belt on their own government spending. As a consequence, governments had to 1) cut access to public goods (like health, education, and infrastructure), 2) privatize and sell off government companies/assets, 3) cut imports and increase exports, and generally make conditions even worse for the country’s citizens. As a consequence, oppression and life generally worsened for everyone, leading to massive unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the government as well as real changes in the quality of poverty (all

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    This is expressed through the societal conceptual understanding of poverty, the institutions and arrangements that govern resource availability and access and the continual sustainability of that access as well as understanding the foundations and institutions that orchestrate the generation of poverty and challenges that arise with going up against a system that is built and preys on the disadvantaged and poor members of…

    • 2064 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Great Deal Dbq

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    GDP plays a vital role in any country development and in people freshen GDP drops to almost half compare to its pass level. That is a big hit on a country and it is very hard to recover from it. People were in horrible condition. There was no money flow in the society people had nothing to spend so that they can buy items for their necessity.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moyo contends that Western aid has little benefit to African poverty because “in the 1970’s less that 10 percent of Africa’s population lived in dire poverty – today over 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa lives on less than US 2$ a day” (Moyo). Through use of statistics, Moyo builds credibility to her claim. Showing the increase in poverty that has occurred in Africa, despite Western aid, Moyo uses numerical evidence, making it much more difficult for the reader to disprove her argument. Moyo goes on to reason that “over 60 percent of Africans that are under the age of 24 need jobs not sympathy” (Moyo). Therefore, through more statistical support, Moyo shows readers that jobs are really needed in Africa, rather than sympathetic aid from the West.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Promises Not Kept Summary

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Social scientists under this school argue that poverty is not internal but external. They believe that poverty is created due to capitalism. “They believe the growth of today’s rich countries has impoverished the third world and the forces of international capitalism still block its progress”. The main component of focus is the undesirable aspects of the capitalist system and how it exploits the developing countries to keep them poor.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the “The Tyranny of Experts,” William Easterly explores the idea of poor individuals and development approaches. With examples and historical evidence, Easterly comes to the conclusion that to end the problem of poor countries/people and to pursue economic development is to give rights to the poor and treat them equally. Easterly provides four debates, the blank slate versus learning from history, nations versus individuals, conscious versus spontaneous solutions, and authoritarian versus free development, that experts need to pursue and understand. Easterly argues that development experts have relied on the Blank Slate instead of learning from history. Experts have a Blank Slate view that sees country’s history as irrelevant to the country.…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Louisiana Prison Reform

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A combination of poverty, poor education and a justice system created to suppress certain inhabitants of society has created an economic machine that serves little purpose other than to withhold and…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The World Bank and IMF, in theory, is suppose to aid in economic development of impoverished countries in order to reduce poverty and reduce debt burdens. The conditions for countries to receive these loans often come with strings attached. The structural adjustment policies require countries to open up their lands to foreign corporations that take advantage of cheap labor and an open environment to benefit themselves(Easterly). The World Bank and IMF is expected to help the impoverished countries become more stable but end up causing more harm by creating dependence on corporations to help them recover from debt and potential harm to their environment. In the early 2000, the struggling country Argentina was put in a position where they needed to seek out a loan from the IMF, but at an extraordinary cost.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Easterly argues in his book The Tyranny of Experts that the support of autocratic dictatorships does not promote economic or political development in a more efficient way than what allowing a democratic and free regime to flourish would promote. He presents the idea that development experts who try to implement policies through dictators in order to promote the economic well-being of nations fail to support the economic or political well-being of individuals due to four things that development experts ignore: the history of the nations with autocratic leaders, the importance of individual rights, the merit of spontaneous solutions, and the success of free development. The first of these he refers to as the “Blank Slate,” the idea…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most of the countries were negatively affected but some emerged stronger. BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India, and China enhanced their world power (pg.148). Many other countries took The United States was one of the countries who suffered severely and where in need of a solution. A $787 billion stimulus package was passed by congress which was money allocated by the government to financial institutions and selected industries to prevent their collapse and reinvigorate economic growth. Other countries took a different approach in rebuilding which resulted in them to become a world…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Making Poverty by Thomas Line’s examines how international government policies have generated a crisis of rural poverty. Thomas Line's was authorize to write in this field as he specialized in international agricultural markets and has worked in over forty countries. Line examines the poorest area in our global that demonstrate the mechanisms of markets impact of our agriculture trade. Furthermore, Lines argues world trade negotiations are not the main problem but a factor. He explains how economic actions, market arrangements and how the supply chain can all be assembled to form a solution to our globes international poverty.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These countries are taking money away from providing healthcare, food, shelter, and the basics to repay the loan in the interest of the top powers of these…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Foreign Aid Research Paper

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages

    That is the highest total amount of debt of all countries worldwide (US News). Because of this, I believe that the United States needs to cut back on the amounts of foreign aid we are giving, focus on repaying debt, and assisting our own country. The United States has spent excess amounts of money rebuilding and assisting foreign nations, when in reality it’s own country is struggling more than the countries being assisted. Under certain circumstances such as catastrophic events or civil unrest, the United States may need to step in and give some assistance. For the most part, there are not a lucrative amount of these each year.…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The world has a long history of colonialism, with most of the world today being shaped by colonialism. At a point in time, most countries were divided into two categories: colonies, or empires. To be an empire, it was essential to have numerous colonies, as this was a way to show power and obtain raw resources. However, the modern world now has changed significantly, or it has claimed it has. Although colonialism of the past does not exist anymore, the effects of colonialism are still present and affect many countries to this day.…

    • 1494 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Pursuit Of Wealth

    • 1281 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. Those who pursue wealth fall into temptation, harmful desires, ruin and destruction; for the love of money is the root of all evil (The New American Bible). This excerpt from the bible still holds true today. Some people in their effort to become wealthy will do anything to achieve wealth. The society today still equals wealth with power.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After gaining independence many African nations were working to improve their economies and become more industrialized and developed. During this time period many of these Sub-Saharan African countries took out loans in order to achieve their development goals. In the 1970’s when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased its oil prices the world economy was affected (Thomas, 200). The increased prices created increased interest rates of loans, which the African nations where unable to pay. This led to organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) creating strategic adjustment programs (SAP).…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays