Easterly contends that poverty reduction has been used as a tactic to take away the rights of the poor and give power to the state and corporations.

[3] Easterly also wrote an op-ed for Seattle Times describing the themes of his book, and taking issue with the approach used by Bill Gates to fight poverty.

"[6] Carol Graham, writing for the Journal of Economic Literature, suggests that he "fails to note that myriad impoverished individuals cannot exercise these freedoms due to low expectations or compromised rights.

"[7] Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Sarah Chayes was also critical: "Mr. Easterly calls for a profound overhaul of the way powerful nations conceive of and implement aid—and, more important, of the broader foreign-policy decision-making of which aid is a component.

"[8] Kirkus Reviews described the book more neutrally, with the concluding sentence: "A sharply written polemic intended to stir up debate about the aims of global anti-poverty campaigns.