Power of Greed: Collective Action in International Development

By Michael Rosberg

Why do so many international development projects fail? Is it because poor regions are inherently corrupt, or is it because developers and donors do not properly take into account how local survival mechanisms work? In a lively and provocative analysis of community development, Michael Rosberg challenges the received wisdom of international development agencies, suggesting that in order for development to be successful it must speak directly to the self-interest of individuals in emerging nations. In an accessible and personal work, The Power of Greed deftly navigates the thickets of morality, theory, and ideology to arrive at pragmatic strategies that demonstrate that when an individual's self-interest is creatively and appropriately engaged in cooperative enterprise, the greater good of the community can be well served.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888644299
• ISBN13: 9780888644299
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: University of Alberta Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.9" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Especially recommended for college-level courses in international politics

Plenty of international development projects are fostered in richer nations and fail in poorer ones: is it because these regions are inherently corrupt, or because developers don't really understand how these developing nations work? THE POWER OF GREED: COLLECTIVE ACTION IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT analyzes the common problems involved in community development projects, challenging the routines and ideas of international development agencies and showing how individuals in developing nations often don't see their individual needs addressed in such projects. Chapters survey conceptual frameworks of success, strategies, and both failures and achievements in light of these ideas. Especially recommended for college-level courses in international politics

Understanding from a Real World Practitioner

The amount of treasure expended as aid to developing countries since World War II has been immense. If it had worked, there should have been no poverty left in the world, democracy should have developed everywhere, and the whole world a better place to live. Needless to say, it hasn't worked out that way. Instead we are seeing countries facing massive amounts of debt that will never be repaid. Dr. Rosberg is a Canadian living in Belize. This book reflects what he has learned from his years of observing and working with developmental projects. He says that for a project to be successful, an individual's self-interest (which he calls greed) has to tell him that doing these things will be beneficial to him. Dr. Rosberg says that the sterile debates of morality associated with wealth generation have to be laid aside. This is a pragmatic book that looks at the world of developing companies as he finds them, not as something abstract as might be viewed from an ivory tower. This is an interesting point of view that looks at modern problems in a way that almost relates back to the work of Adam Smith many years ago.