The Life and Crimes of an Exemplary Man adds a new dimension to his analyses, and a new chapter to the precious research carried out by the Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt (CADTM) to demystify these Bretton Woods institutions. The potions concocted by the IMF and World Bank are not only bitter, they are also often deadly.

War-torn Mali is not suffering from a security crisis in the north and an institutional crisis in the south, as the dominant discourse pretends. It is one of the best pupils of these institutions, which are responsible for its crumbling State structure, the permeability of its borders, and the despair of unemployed young people, who are ready to wage war wherever they can.

To cap it all off, Mali is about to engage in a new cycle of over-indebtedness to pay for its reconstruction according to the same paradigm and under the supervision of the same international financial institutions (the IMF and WB).

Stories such as this one about the life of Jacques de Groote, who used to be an executive director at these two institutions, and has now been condemned by the Swiss courts for fraud, aggravated money laundering, and document forgery, clearly illustrate the moral crisis afflicting the dominant social classes today.
The peoples of the world could act together and more effectively if information were treated in a way that would allow them to understand the responsibilities of the key players. Éric Toussaint’s book is a valuable tool that can educate citizens in the North and in the South.