The astonishing thing about the World Bank is not so much that they think they can end poverty, but they think they can end it by giving money to corrupt government officials and oblige the populations of their countries to pay the money back with interest.

It is naive in the extreme to believe that lending money to a corrupt government and forcing the people they exploit to pay that money (plus interest) back is helping the people. Clearly much (and usually most) of the money lent to the government disappears in bribes, corrupt tendering processes and outright theft. If 25 percent of the money lent is actually usefully spent, then you are imposing an effective interest on the people of 300% before any of the 'official' interest is even added.

Few businesses would borrow money on those terms because they would know that there are very few (if any) major projects which would offer a high enough return to repay that money. Why would anyone think that a government could?

In a democracy people get the government they deserve. However the World Bank also lend the money to dictatorships. A dictator can simply borrow more and more money and put his population into more and more debt. The World Bank is, in essence, holding people responsible for the actions of others - which is immoral by almost anyone's view.

Mayday protesters may be misguided in their criticisms of capitalism, but they understand the dangers of corruption a lot better. It is little wonder that they protest against the actions of the World Bank. It is a pity that they do not have the clarity of thought to see the difference between corruption and globalization.