This article analyses the actions of the World Bank between 1968 and 1981, under the presidency of Robert McNamara, in the context of the Cold War and the directions of US foreign aid policy. It discusses the reasons for, and the means by which the World Bank led, the ‘assault on poverty’, with an emphasis on rural poverty. It problematizes the theory which supported this initiative, analysing its operationalization in the countryside; it discusses the principal format that it assumed, the reasons which propelled it, the political calculation which guided it, the interests at play, and the results that were reached. Finally, the article argues that the ‘assault on poverty’ slogan expresses the disposition and the willingness of the World Bank to intervene in domestic questions, aiming to alter, in a selective and focused manner, the condition of particular social groups in client countries, rather than improving the general conditions of economies. This in turn demanded the strengthening of its advisory, technical assistance and economic research functions. If McNamara's policy of fighting poverty can be considered a failure in economic and social terms (a diagnosis widely accepted in the literature), this article argues that, politically, it was successful by constructing the foundations for the neoliberal‐type focused social policies that were in vogue in the following decades.

中文翻译：

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世界银行的“对贫困的攻击”作为一个政治问题（1968-81年）

本文分析了世界银行在罗伯特·麦克纳马拉（Robert McNamara）总统领导下在1968年至1981年之间在冷战和美国对外援助政策方向下的行动。它讨论了世界银行领导“对贫困的袭击”的原因和方式，重点是农村贫困。它对支持该倡议的理论提出了质疑，并分析了其在农村的可操作性。它讨论了它假定的主要格式，推动它的原因，指导它的政治计算，利益在起作用以及达到的结果。最后，该文章认为，“突击贫困”口号表达了世界银行干预国内问题的意愿和意愿，旨在有选择地，有针对性地改变，客户国家/地区特定社会群体的状况，而不是改善经济体的总体状况。反过来，这要求加强其咨询，技术援助和经济研究职能。如果将麦克纳马拉的消除贫困政策视为经济和社会方面的失败（一种在文献中广泛接受的诊断），则本文认为，从政治上讲，它通过为随后几十年流行的新自由主义式社会政策奠定基础而取得了成功。