The World Bank has a problem - capitalism. So much so, the World Bank is being called a failed model. The trail of travesty is so vast, rumors of Tony Blair taking charge, with his "reverse Midas touch," have brought about some cheering amongst analysts.

Recently I was privy to a conversation between a few well-informed and concerned citizens and professionals, including a personal friend Jeff Kroll, published sociologist professor at Carthage College. They brought to my attention one thing that I found particularly interesting.

The Asian financial crisis was resolved without World Bank assistance, and they are currently in a very good position. However the Soviet Union, who did receive World Bank assistance, is in a rapid downward economic spiral. Why? While that answer is not terribly simple, it boils down to one central concept - the nature of capitalism.

When the World Bank offers a loan, they make demands upon the recipient country to make certain budget cuts. Things like health, education, and other social sector establishments are the first to lose funding. After that, sustainable development capacities are endangered with agricultural and food stock cuts, among others.

This leaves the country with a reasonable capacity to pay back the loan, but with a very high likelihood of needing another one in the future, for obvious reasons. As if that was not bad enough, the fundamental nature of capitalism leaves the possibility wide open for the World Bank to deal in economic warfare.

The World Bank's capitalistic model just does not allow for sustainable world development, and history has proven it, over and over. If you're interested in further reading, the Global Policy Forum on NGOs is an excellent resource.