“We tell developing countries about the importance of democracy, but then, when it comes to issues they are most concerned with, those that affect their livelihoods, the economy, they are told: the iron laws of economics give you little or no choice; and since you (through your democratic political process) are likely to mess things up, you must cede key economic decisions, say concerning macro-economic policy, to an independent central bank, almost always dominated by representatives of the financial community; and to ensure that you act in the interests of the financial community, you are told to focus exclusively on inflation – never mind jobs or growth; and to make sure that you do just that, you are told to impose on the central bank rules, such as expanding the money supply at a constant rate; and when one rule fails to work as had been hoped, another rule is brought out, such as inflation targeting. In short, as we seemingly empower individuals in the former colonies through democracy with one hand, we take it away with the other.”

– Joseph Stiglitz, Foreword to The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Karl Polanyi).