He goes on to do this again, although putting the historical context into more modern history by citing the industrial revolution. He states that, “The scale and velocity of Third World urbanization, moreover, utterly dwarfs that of Victorian Europe. London in 1910 was seven times larger than it had been in 1800, but Dhaka, Kinshasa, and Lagos today are each approximately forty times larger than they were in 1950” (2). Davis is likely assuming, quite possible correctly, that the vast majority of his readership is Western and acquainted with an understanding of London during the Industrial Revolution, thus to offer a more staggering understanding of the scope of the massive developing world urban migration he uses London as the point of comparison. Somehow, he seems to understand that for the average, non-specialized reader, this approach of contextualizing through comparison of the familiar is an effective approach and he often does this. His approach both at the beginning, as well as throughout his text pits seemingly impossible credible statistics against his readers’ likely perceptions about the extent of both population growth and how the populations in these areas gets by. The final effect of this heavy reliance on extensive research data lends support to an argument that could too easily be discounted as “doom and gloom” and without true merit simply as a result of the homogeneity in mere scope, if nothing else.

One of the most compelling arguments Davis makes in his book is more grounded in the current rather than based on conjecture. He discusses the mysterious trend of “urbanization without industrialization” (14) which he sees as being caused by the imbalances brought about by multilateral organizations such as the IMF and World Bank and their effects on economies, policies, and practices in countries that prior to such interventions, were poor but did not suffer the rural/versus urban disparities. Davis notes that the urban migration despite the lack of technical progress and new jobs, “is more obviously the legacy of a global political conjuncture—the worldwide debt crisis of the late 1970s and the subsequent IMF-led restructuring of the Third World economies in the 1980s” (14). This restructuring set forth clear guidelines for countries to settle debt in terms that were suitable to the needs of these developed-world-sponsored parties and through their process of deregulation of the agricultural and rural economies (among many other changes that completely altered daily life and sustenance activities across sectors in the developing world) a great migration occurred because living in rural areas was no longer possible, either economically or sustainability-wise. To further complicate this situation of rural migration to urban areas, despite a lack of jobs or clear economic incentive to move, the IMF and World Banks and their Structural Adjustment Programs, especially in the 70s and 80s when these changes were just beginning, “required a shrinkage of government programs and, often, the privatization of housing markets” (63). In a chapter that defines the “Washington Consensus” called  Treason of the State” Davis explores how these Western-led institutions caused a sea-change in the entire social economy of developing nations and spends the rest of the book narrowing in not only how this has already had a negative effect, but will continue to have such alarming consequences. This is a critical argument that forms the backbone of Davis’ book and constitutes, at least according to this reviewer of the book, the most logical and supportable issue explored. While Davis offers several insights about the future following these inescapable policies, there are far too many issues ignored that add important nuance—at best, this is where the most solid material lies.

Part of the strength of Davis’ compelling arguments rests on his portrayal of the urban slums as existing in almost the same form, with similar informal structures of economy and roughly the same problems throughout—regardless where in the world he is presenting them as thriving. Even if one finds Davis’ outlook on the future of urban populations single-minded in its bleakness and without proper credence given to positive outcomes, policies, organizational and political efforts, and efforts by those in urban areas themselves, he does posses impressive rhetorical and persuasive powers that are strong enough to make even his most ardent detractors pause. Part of the reason why this pause occurs is because his approach is so vast in scope with statistics that are so overpowering that they are impossible to ignore. His statements and suggestions are so broad in scope that it becomes possible to see how throughout the world, essentially the same forces have created conditions favorable to the purposeless new urban migration, which leads the readers to see how the power to shift world economies and societies lays in the powerful hands of a few governments and institutions. However, part of the reason why this book is persuasive also reveals one of its greatest flaws; it simply lumps together the experiences, conditions, cultures, and societies into one whole that is not reflective of the critical differences that exist have the ability to change due to external and internal corrective movements. Just as Davis begins to narrow in one particular region’s slums, he pans back out again before the reader ever gets the chance to adequately understand what might make that particular slum unique or more or less agreeable to possible solutions.
As suggested, this book fulfills its purpose for the general reader most efficiently when it concentrates far less on conjecture and more on the reasons that have led to the current mass imbalance between rural and urban areas in many cities throughout the developing world. The argument about how the IMF and World Bank and related institutions have set the stage for the issue is of great value for understanding the best way to remedy the problem of continued urban migration without the economic and social supports to suitably sustain such populations. However, even though it seems that through careful deliberation of this portion Davis is able to clearly lay out his case against neoliberal organizations who have set into motion this problem, he does not offer anything but a sound criticism and doomed view of the future. There are few moments in the text where Davis proposes solutions and for a book with such a wide-scale condemnation of the current state of international aid, cities in developing countries, and the hopeless state of the informal sector these areas maintain, it seems that some kind of branded solution is warranted. It is clear that the purpose of the book is not aligned with offering solutions, especially as it seems that the book is merely a detailed criticism and presentation of a possible future for its more specialized audience of detractors to his Marxist ideas versus neoliberalism. Still, with the dual issues in this book of generalizing urban populations into one homogenized view that is consistent in his view, regardless of vast differences in geography, social and political circumstances and conditions, cultural and religious norms, and other important issues that influence cross-cultural differences, Davis is ignoring the most important issue in any debate about the future in a wide, international context—nuance.