But corruption poses the single largest obstacle to growth and development in many countries, especially as it diverts resources from the poor. The World Bank insisted that corruption be seen as a cancer, and that fighting it be made synonymous with fighting poverty.
沃尔芬森认为腐败是发展进程的组成部分，又向前迈出了有价值的一步，因为过去在某些官僚圈子里，即使提一下“腐败”这个词似乎都是很忌讳的。但在许多国家，腐败成了阻碍发展唯一最大的障碍，尤其因为它侵占穷人的资源。世界银行坚持认为：腐败就像癌症，反对腐败就如同对抗贫困。