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Analyzes how the United States and the West have managed to earn their reputation as neo-imperialists and thieves of sovereignty. Effects of the debt crisis during the 1970s; Reasons for the subservience of Third World governments to Western standards; Reflections on Western intolerance to opposition; Role of the West in addressing the general question of global justice.

The U.N. International Monetary Fund (IMF) lends hard currency to foreign governments for short-term balance of payments imbalances. While this is well-known, few understand the process through which the IMF decides what will be the conditions of receipt of those loans in each case. In this article, it is proposed that such decisions are arrived at through a complex and convoluted process of bargaining and exchange between a variety of actors, rather than through imposition of rules or political power. The counter-intuitive proposition is supported by a description of the decision-making process involved in a typical IMF loan. Such a process involves several distinct phases: try government; staff preparation for normal negotiations with the government; direct negotiations between Fund "mission" and member country officials; internal IMF discussion of results of negotiations; and disbursement and review of compliance to conditions of loan. This perspective on IMF decision-making gives rise to a new set of opportunities and constraints on those, especially debtor nations, interested in maximizing the outcome of their interactions with the fund.