Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T04:28:07.635Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The “Rashomon” Effect: Ideological Proclivities and Political Dilemmas of the International Monetary Fund

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Irving Louis Horowitz
Irving Louis Horowitz*
Affiliation:
Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The title of my essay, invoking, as it does, the justifiably famous Japanese cinema verité production of Rashomon, might well strike a discordant note. My aim, however, is to clarify, not to confuse. The film describes a variety of eyewitnesses to a murder, each one of whom, infused with different motives, “saw” the event differently from the other eyewitnesses. This is little more than a modern-day version of Walter Lippmann's observations on the ideological, interest-laden nature of the formation of public opinion in modern society, but it serves us well in introducing the topic of this essay.

What I am suggesting with respect to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and what I hope to demonstrate, is that we are now experiencing a similar paradox in the sociology of knowledge.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , Winter 1985 , pp. 37 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brandt, W. and Sampson, A. (eds.) (1980) North-South: A Program for Survival (The Brandt Report). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Brecher, R. and Choudri, E. (1982) “Immiserizing Investment from Abroad.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics XCVII, 1 (February): 181-90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carrada Bravo, F. (1982a) Oil, Money, and the Mexican Economy: A Macroeconometric Analysis. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Carrada Bravo, F. (1982b) Mexico's Political Economy: Challenges at Home and Abroad. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Google Scholar
Díaz, R. (1984) “Uruguay Erratic Growth,” pp. 377–401 in Harberger, Arnold (ed.) World Economic Growth: Case Studies of Developed and Developing Nations. San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies.Google Scholar
Dornbusch, R. and Simonsen, M. (1983) Inflation, Debt and Indexation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Eisendrath, J. (1983) “How the IMF Makes the World Safe for Depression.” Washington Monthly 14 (February): 14–20.Google Scholar
Engman, L. (1984) “How Multinational Companies Can Pull Back Third World Poverty.” Imprimis 14, 3:1–40.Google Scholar
Fishlow, A. and Alejandro, C. Díaz (1984) Rich and Poor Nations in a World Economy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers.Google Scholar
Harberger, A. (1984) “Economic Policy and Economic Growth,” pp. 428–435 in Harberger, A. (ed.) World Economic Growth: Case Studies of Developed and Developing Nations. San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies.Google Scholar
Horowitz, I. (1980) “When Worlds Collide.” The Washington Quarterly: A Review of Strategic and International Issues 3, 3 (Summer): 213–217.Google Scholar
Kharas, H. (1984) “The Long-Run Creditworthiness of Developing Countries: Theory and Practice.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics XCIX, 3 (August): 415–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilborn, P. (1984) “U.S. Gives Argentina More Time.” The New York Times, 1 June.Google Scholar
Loxley, J. (1984) The IMF and the Poorest Countries: The Performance of the Least-Developed Countries under IMF Standby Arrangements. Ottawa, Canada: North South Institute.Google Scholar
McFarren, P. (1984) “Bolivia Says It Has Suspended Debt Payments.” Wall Street Journal, 1 June: 29.Google Scholar
de la Madrid Hurtado, M. (1984) “Restructuring of the Foreign Debt.” Mexico Today 2, 10 (October): 1–12.Google Scholar
Maylor, R. (1982) “Reaganism and the Future of the International Payments System.” Third World Quarterly 14 (October): 655–676.Google Scholar
Nelson, J. (1984) “The Political Economy of Stabilization: Commitment, Capacity, and Public Response.” World Development 12, 10: 983–1006.Google Scholar
Pion-Berlin, D. (1983) “Political Repression and Economic Doctrines.” Comparative Political Studies 16, 1 (April): 37–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powelson, J. (1985) “Prospects for Economic Development in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review, XX, 3: 228–234.Google Scholar
Pratt, R.C. (1983) “International Bankers and the Crisis of Debt,” pp. 30–31 in Torrie, J. (ed.) Banking on Poverty: The Global Impact of the IMF and the World Bank. Toronto, Canada: Between the Lines Publishers.Google Scholar
Prebisch, R. (1959) “Commercial Policy in the Underdeveloped Countries.” American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings) XLIX: 251–273.Google Scholar
Reed, J. (1985) Joseph V. Reed Statement on the World Economy. New York, NY: U.S. Mission to the United Nations, USUN 117(85), 16 October.Google Scholar
Ritter, A. and Pollock, D. (1983) Latin American Prospects for the 1980s. New York, NY: Praeger/CBS.Google Scholar
Rowe, J. (1985) “IMF Optimistic on World Growth.” The Washington Post, 18 April.Google Scholar
Saddy, F. (1985) “The Debt Crisis: An Arab-Latin American Approach.” The Banker (February): 14-16.Google Scholar
Saddy, F. (ed.) (1983) Arab-Latin American Relations. New York, NY: Transaction Books.Google Scholar
Scharrer, H-E. (1984) “The IMF: A Success Story?” Intereconomics 18, 4 (July/August): 162–167.Google Scholar
Schwartz, H. (1983) Bottlenecks to Latin American Industrial Development. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Sedjo, R. (1985) “Third World Debts Create US Trade Deficits.” Wall Street Journal, 15 January.Google Scholar
Singer, H. (1950) “The Distribution of Gains Between Investing and Borrowing Countries.” American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings) XL: 473-85.Google Scholar
Torrie, J. (ed.) (1983) Banking on Poverty: The Global Impact of the IMF and World Bank. Toronto, Canada: Between the Lines Publishers.Google Scholar
Witcher, S.K. (1985) “Debt Crisis is Waning in Developing Nations.” Wall Street Journal, 26 March.Google Scholar