First published in 1999, this volume, the first to be published in on Jubilee 2000, describes the plight of 52 of the poorest nations in the world and puts in detail the case for radical cancellation of past inert debt. The cost and benefit of this remission and the groundbreaking concordat of peoples and governments that could accompany it are examined in detail.

It contains critiques of the economic bases of the World Bank and IMF approaches to debt management in developing economies, as manifested in structural adjustment programmes and their maintenance, misuse of excess reserves and the methods used to carry out restructuring and development projects.

The British anti-slavery campaign saw a mobilisation of public opinion for a great cause. Using this as a source of inspiration, public opinion must again be mobilised for what amounts to the greatest opportunity for justice, compassion and forgiveness facing us all at the beginning of a new millennium.