Madam, - How ironic that, in the year of the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, we have the International Monetary Fund and World Bank expressing concern at the recent surge in world food prices (The Irish Times, April 14th). These institutions, originally formed to help developing countries improve their economies, have in the past 30 years become tools for the propagation of the free-market economics espoused by Milton Friedman and Margaret Thatcher.
This approach to economics has led to the worldwide privatisation of social services, food production and basic utilities, with corporate interests the main beneficiary. Now these institutions are pleading with governments (ie, taxpayers like us) to help ease the burden of soaring prices in the developing world. These price increases are due in part to the recent massive demand for biofuels in the West, driven by corporate interests.
Of course it is vital for us in the affluent West to help out the less fortunate, but it is galling institutions which have facilitated the decimation of self-sufficient local economies in the developing world are now handing around the begging bowl. - Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH, Church Road, Blackrock, Cork.