Adonis Diaries

Part One: “The Great Disillusion”; (Mar. 16, 2010)

            Joseph E. Stieglitz, Nobel Prize for Economics, published “The great disillusion” in 2002 six years ahead of the financial crash.  It was followed by “When capitalism lost its head” in 2009.  “The great disillusion” is of 407 pages divided in nine chapters such as: promises of international institutions; promises not kept; liberty of choice; the Asiatic financial crisis; who lost Russia; the “unjust laws of fair trade”; the best alternatives toward the market place; other programs of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and the future.

            Joseph E. Stieglitz was doing research on the imbalances in fair market competition because of the lack of adequate and precise flow of economic intelligence that are not equitably disseminated and shared equally by competitive companies and enterprises. Former President Clinton asked Joseph to join in 1993 the “Economic Advisory Council (EAC)” that was represented by three experts nominated by the President to counsel the Executive branch on economic matters. Thus, Stieglitz was de facto immersed into politics since then and witnessed closely the processes of decision making.

            In 1997, Stieglitz was transferred as First Vice President to the World Bank or economist in chief till 2000. In these 7 years in Washington DC, Stieglitz followed the transition in Russia and the Far East Asia financial crisis that extended globally. Stieglitz had the opportunity to visit countless developing States and converse with many financial and economic ministers and political leaders.

            The book discusses and analyzes the terrible effects of globalization and the ideological economics precepts of the IMF on the rampant poverty that was exacerbated by unilateral neo-liberal economic ideology of the USA. Stieglitz said: “Today globalization is not working; not for the poor of the world; not for the developing States; not for the environment; and not for world economic stability.  Globalization is not working because it is badly managed: the unilateral rules of the game of the US disturbed the process for developing States to comprehend why non working and non applicable decisions in the US should be forced to work in the developing countries.” (To be continued)