Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Forget the World Bank, Try Wal-Mart

Agents of change. Stasist thinkers will have you believe that no change can be achieved unless directed, controlled and/or initiated by government action. And there can be no government action without an accompanying bureaucracy. Thus, we get legions of articles and books on "management" and the inherent role of governance in the economy. In contrast, dynamists will suggest that if change is desired, get government (and especially bureaucracy) out of the way and let entrepreneurship create that change.

In empirical rather than theoretical terms, Strong suggests we should just 'forget the World Bank' and recognize what Wal-Mart has done to alleviate world poverty. This will be difficult for many to acknowledge as they are predisposed against seeing any benefits from large corporations.

Acknowledging the benefits of Wal-Mart's activities also requires that we recognize that another axiomatic construct is well past its due date: the necessity for world change to be managed by bureaucracies and controlled by governments.