places:
1. "much of what we say and debate will be side-tracked by the outcome of
'actual African history in the making'" This presupposes that the reality of
which he speaks has a logic of its own separate from the "familiar lazy
constructions of Africa in terms of 'corruption', 'poverty' and
'incapacity'". I prefer to think about this in terms of how historical
reality and discourses reproduce one another in a mobile exchange. Certain
discursive constructions create and perpetuate certain realities.
2. systems are not essentially negative and restrictive, they enable,
empower and sustain. So, when we talk about global, I prefer the term
"general", systemic determinations, we are not simply talking about
constraints.
3. it is indeed true that the global system is a prison house for many. We
must see ourselves jail breaking when we seek fundamental transformations of
the system.
The overall point is that AFRICA IS NOT AN EXCEPTION. I believe that Ken
Harrow was preempting the question that usually follows "why is Africa in
such a mess?" It very often leads to a criticism of leadership, which is a
mask for questioning the inherent humanity of Africans based on a
characteristic existential situation. He is asking us via Mamdani to look
beyond Africa to see similar mechanisms re/produce the exact same situation
time and again. Once we understand those general mechanisms or apparatuses,
we can set at a purposeful and meaningful program of reconstruction.
Bode
-----Original Message-----
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
[mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
eiwerieb@hunter.cuny.edu
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 9:15 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why is Africa in such a mess?
Is Africa in a mess?
This discussion has gone on for quite sometime and like so much of such
discussions about Africa it threatens to reduce to the listing of Africa as
incapacitated and bounded by nothing but constraints. But this discussion
also provokes several questions.
In what sense is Africa in a mess? Which Africa? All 54 countries? Some
Countries? Are African countries actually where they where 40-50 years ago?
What is actually on the ground that was not there 50 years? What is actually
missing in terms of Africa's capacity for self-propulsion?
2. It is true that in one way or another there has always being a world
system much as there is national, regional, state, provincial, town,
village, neighborhood and family systems. People and societies operate
within and without the bounds of these systems.
3.Historically development has always been about consciousness, vision,
goals, organization, opportunities, constraints and choice.
4. There is no question that any power that emerges, past and present will
try to organize the world to its advantage just as China and India are
trying to do today. The same will apply to any serious African country that
emerges as a global power. In short, it has always been the practice and
business of old and emergent powers to organize the world to their benefit.
There is nothing new about this. What is perhaps new is that the present
world system due to the advances in transport and telecommunication
technologies is much tighter.
5. But this does not make the world or global system a prison-house.
6. Leaders and peoples even in Africa are quite capable of achieving
breakthroughs as effective economic and social actors and makers of the
system to the extent that they are driven by a a fairly clear understanding
of the global system, a consciouness of its potential and actual constraints
on them, and are willing to mobilize and deploy national psychological
resources to the project of self-transformation.
7. It is true that Africa has experienced the loss of its autochtonous
spiritual, religious, linguistic anchors as the animating motive force of
its self-direction; but his loss is not total and at that this stage the
lamentation of this loss is neither here nor there.
8. The point is, what will Africa as a unit and its countries do to
participate in this world system as effective self-directed societies that
relentelessly pursue national and continental objectives with little regard
to the the constraints of the present global system. Or how can the
continent or more correctly its key and potential vanguard countries
organize to become makers of the global system.
9. Finally, however much we debate "Africa" from the distant or even from
within, if the terms of our perception and description are derived from the
defective conceptual simplifications of the world system; and not from the
ideological and political and practical complexity of "actually existing
Africa" much of what we say and debate will be side-tracked by the outcome
of "actual African history in the making" that is not reducible to the
familiar lazy constructions of Africa in terms of "corruption", "poverty"
and "incapacity".
Ehiedu Iweriebor
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