1. Global West (including Japan) vs. The Rest: A Historical Perspective.
Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit. At its best, the system depicts high levels of production and consumption, for those who can afford. Capitalism was created by primitive accumulation; a historical phenomenon whereby the powerful and dominant in society, amassed land at no cost, and employed free (slave) labour, to initiate capital formation for the benefit of the land-owning ruling class. Such economic foundation proved to be a huge advantage to the private owners of the means production; as far as subsequent economic growth was concerned. The colonial state in Africa, (including Zambia), played exactly the same game. In Zambia in particular, Dr. Henry S. Meebelo, in his book “African Proletarians and Colonial Capitalism” (1982; p.3) says; “Colonial governments, industrialists, farmers and missionaries alike, depended upon the African villager’s labour-power for their advancement, which they hired at paltry wages, notwithstanding its relative scarcity”. Capitalism eventually established itself in the West, and according to Hernando De Soto, an economist at the GATT, and author of the book; “The Mystery of Capital” (2000), ‘is only successful in the West’.
Conversely, the ‘Eastern Bloc’ especially the dominant economies of People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the Russian Federal Republic (RFP), never had the benefit of enslaving Africans to provide free labour: which, in the West, lasted for 395 years; using some 30 million Black slaves, the first of them having landed on American soil in 1619 AD, according to historians. Not surprisingly; Professor Terry Eagleton (British), writing at the end of 2022, had this to say; “Modern capitalist nations are the fruit of a history of slavery, genocide, violence and exploitation…”. Given this skewed history, those who praise the West, and deride the East on account of volumes of consumer goods being higher in the West, must first understand that the West had a head start of 395 years of chattel slavery, to their exclusive advantage. Secondly, the praise singers of the Western Empire must take note of the real people’s development, which has taken place in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), since the days of Premier Deng Xiaoping (1978-86), given his commitment to market reforms, dictatorship of economists and genuine people’s economic development. Together those policies have lifted over 300 million Chinese people out of poverty in a period of 40 years; but without chattel slavery, colonizing other continents, and without waging opium wars or using magic money; the well-documented levers of capitalism, that Professor Eagleton will recognize. Given the above empirical comparison, my take is about what Africa must do now. Africa must do something different: through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), join the creation of a multipolar financial world, where the dependence on the US dollar and associated risks, can be reduced to negligibility, in the near future.
2. Secondly, as AfCFTA (not individual countries acting alone) re-set terms of trade with all partners; in the spirit of true lateralism and say good-bye to WTO terms immediately and thereby increase intra- Africa trade AND exports to the World, settling the trade in the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) anchored by the Afreximbank based in the Arab Republic of Egypt! Can that happen? Yes, it can; it is our future survival at stake, we must fight for it, as before: freedom is not free. Always remembering Dr. Nkruma’s words; “freedom is not a commodity which is ‘given’ to the enslaved upon demand. It is a precious reward, the shining trophy of struggle and sacrifice”.
Thirdly, guided by empiricism—the Western intellectual tradition of learning by observation—examine and emulate the modes of production and distribution of benefits of sovereign natural resources and minerals in the following jurisdictions:
i. State of Alaska (USA) its oil resources; since 1982.
ii. Norway (Europe) its oil resources.
iii.Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Middle East) its oil resources.
iv. United Arab Emirates (Middle East) its oil & gas resources.
v. Republic of Botswana (Africa) its diamonds.
Without feeling duty-bound to meddlers from outside, develop our own mode of production and distribution of benefits of Africa’s resources to our citizens; including benefits out of minerals, learning from those other jurisdictions.
Nigeria should learn from its neighbour: Niger and annul all colonial treaties with European companies that have a stranglehold on Nigerian oil resources.
Fourthly, apply for membership of the BRICS without permission from the IMF & the World Bank, and help in broadening & strengthening the BRICS fraternity; THEN BEGIN TO INDUSTRIALIZE!
3. Africa’s Poverty A Threat to Europe’s Security
In 1944 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; USA, the International Labour Organization (ILO), made a declaration: “The Philadelphia Declaration”. It said; “poverty anywhere, is a danger to prosperity everywhere”. In 2008 the ILO made yet another declaration. The 2008 Declaration was on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization. The declaration affirmed, that the Philadelphia Declaration was still relevant in the 21st century. With that background, and for the purpose of this article, I now address myself to the question of poverty in Africa being a threat to prosperity in Europe. Taking the economic gaze as a way of safeguarding Europe’s long-term security, Europe should EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH CHINA and bring about genuine economic development to Africa. Or else, in the next twenty years Europe will be immersed, and eventually be drowned into Africa’s youthful immigrants running away from poverty and squalor in Africa. To do this, Europe must partially DISABUSE itself from the USA’s doctrine of European security; anchored on militarism.
An Africa with a youthful population in excess of two billion by 2040; and a decimal share of global trade standing at less than 3% (using the 2021 baseline), can only engulf and inundate Europe; and make the UK/RWANDA ‘refugees for cash’ alchemy look like a child’s picnic, which it has always been from inception, apart from being illegal. Europe should be reminded of one more ILO slogan: the one engraved at the entrance of the ILO Headquarters in GENEVA, Europe; “If you desire peace, cultivate justice”! In my opinion, this is the correct ANALYSIS of the Euro/Africa situation.
4. Conclusion
The main constitutive cause of stagnation of Africa, is the lack of commensurate economic growth, against the fast-growing population. Yet everyone agrees that Africa is the richest continent; not in terms of guns, or in terms of printing magic money. Africa is rich in terms of real and rare wealth of minerals and other resources, including human labour, that the World needed in the past to develop. AND rich in the minerals and human resource, that the World needs now and in future to support the global initiative to de-carbonize and electrify; in the face of climate change. Also, to anchor the growth of AI and the 4th Industrial Revolution. Africa’s current trouble, however, is that the value of its resources, particularly natural resources, is taken by other people; through the present nature of trade, which is simply legalized looting and plunder, while African countries are waiting for loans from the IMF; where Africa pays the highest interest on that capital: four times higher than that paid by Europe. Waiting for lectures from the World Bank, on ‘export-led growth’ when Africa’s share of global trade is less than 3% (using the 2021 baseline). These comparisons are utterly suicidal to Africa. Africa must resolve to do things differently. Africa must do something different. AfCFTA is the vehicle for achieving that!
The Author is a chronicler on matters of public interest: [email protected]
