Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why is Africa in such a mess?

pius
outside of maybe north korea, what country's economy and social structure does not obey the logic introduced by neoliberal capitalism. to a lesser degree in one location, to a greater in another?
for instance, neoliberalism dictates free trade and enforces it by imf rules. so it is built around a worldwide system of financial exchanges that dictate conditions for lending and borrowing. those that provide the funding are not subject to tariff rules; that that borrow are subject to tariff rules. both operate within the same system, although the impact is felt differently. the borrowers run enormous risks, as we have seen with the rules for borrowing stifling the ability of local african farmers to compete. when malawi chose to forgo the loans in order to support their own crops, things improved.
maybe the loans worked better for ghana than for mali. again, there is room within the system, as everyone has been loudly and correctly arguing, to maneuver, so that some states do better than others. but all are maneuvering within the same systemic constraints.
consider iceland's vertiginous fall, along with ireland's, before you tell me that europe stands outside the system. all are vulnerable to its effects, but not all are positioned in the same way within the system. thus germany emerges relatively unscathed; but english university students are completely screwed.

finally, it dispirits me to see moses cite approvingly the ascension of new states like india or china within this system, as proof that it accommodates positive change. there is not a shred of concern over the vast numbers of people whose impoverished conditions are exploited by the constraints of neoliberal capitalism, as though there were no price to be paid in capitalism's workings, as though there were no labor to be exploited, as though there were no police actions in china to repress workers' rights, as though the advances for the very rich offset any abuses of the working class
how far we have come from a notion of progressive politics in africa when the idea of fighting for freedom did not mean freedom to become as rich as possible, never mind who suffers as a consequence.
moses and others are right to say we are here, we can't go back to older days with socialist ideals.  but there i a huge difference between those like david brooks whose admiration for the rich and their ways is unstinted, and those like bob herbert who aligns himself with the poor and continues to fight for their rights.
now in dakar as in new york it isn't a question of simply the rich and the poor, it is the superrich, the obscenely rich, the don't-ever-dare-to-try-to-tax-me rich, the this-country=belongs-to-me-i-own-it-and-everything-in-it, and the poor whose life is marked by struggle, unemployment, and the sight of a fortress's wall, always from the outside.
whose voice am i hearing? is it gbagbo, or limbaugh?
ken

On 12/20/10 10:42 PM, Pius Adesanmi wrote:

"i stated, as clearly as i could, that africa does not stand in a different position vis-a-vis neoliberal capitalism or globalization than any other country" - Ken Ken, Ken, Ken: You mean "any other continent?" If our enemies rush for your jugular because of this dangerous slip up, remember to tell them that I denied ever knowing you three times before the cock crowed. Pius --- On Tue, 21/12/10, kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> wrote: From: kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why is Africa in such a mess? To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com Date: Tuesday, 21 December, 2010, 2:46 chikwendu i have two problems with your argument first, you, and others, have constructed a straw man, or refuse to hear or accept the argument i advanced. i stated, as clearly as i could, that africa does not stand in a different position vis-a-vis neoliberal capitalism or globalization than any other country; that the effects of today's capitalism is to generate enormous disparities in wealth, to generate a reliance on minimal state social services in the faith that corporate development will take care of social needs, and that the increasing size of the empoverished populations, in countries i listed from every continent, follow that pattern. i also acknowledge that there are disparities in power, which contribute to the weaker or poorer states and populations suffering more. but there is no more agency as such for any state, no matter how wealthy, to escape these forces. i don't know how many examples i need to give: i offered russia at one point. how about ireland and spain, portugal, the miracle states of the eu. now the catastrophe states, with enormous problems of unemployment and poverty, debt, anger in the streets, you name it. secondly, pace pius's picture, it isn't a question of "academic arguments," but simply intellectual arguments. how much anti-intellectualism do we have to bear in these arguments. first it is foucault, misspelled to boot, then the academy or western thinkers. it is incredible that we can't have an intelligent discussion on questions of economic growth or political structures without seeking to establish some formula for authenticity as a basis for thought. let me see...i don't like the fact that freud came from austria, as did hitler, so the unconscious must be a nazi invention or should we ask where newton came from before we board a plane? is the academy in which gravity's law in taught somehow less capable of understanding the forces involved than the engineer who builds the plane or the captain who flies it??  did the engineer validate f=ma? discover f=ma? if this path of reasoning bothers you, i suggest you ignore it since it is emerging from my computer in east lansing, no doubt a very remote location from the hard realities of life. so my question is, what is the use of thought? where is thought's home validated? "the academy" is, in fact, yet another straw man in this argument, deflecting us from the issues at hand which are oversimplified into notions of agency that are never really given meaningful definition. ken On 12/20/10 3:05 PM, Chikwendu Ukaegbu wrote: > Academic arguments that continue to paint the African as slave to structure do a disservice to the continent because the commanding heights of the global economy will not and cannot philanthropically plant national development in African countries. -- kenneth w. harrow distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english east lansing, mi 48824-1036 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.   For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue   For previous archives, visit  http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html   To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-       unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

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--  kenneth w. harrow distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english east lansing, mi 48824-1036 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu