maybe it is the case that the aspects of scandinavia which you admire
are the "socialist" aspects of their society. maybe your statement about
embracing capitalism, despite its flaws, because it will lead to the
creation of wealth for all, or almost all, ignores the possibility that
the very poverty in africa about which we are concerned has been
created, not mitigated, by the capitalist system that has held it in
thrall, during colonial days, neocolonial days, globalization days.
i am not an historian, so you can correct me here. i thought it
generally the case that the economic situation throughout much of africa
has deteriorated since independence. that when socialist models in
tanzania or guinea were tried, or at least when neocolonialism was
resisted, the economic clout of the western states was enough to subvert
those efforts.
you keep referring to the failures of socialism as though there really
had been a state in which the proletariat had become the ruling class.
no one believes that.
no one on the left would defend the authoritarianism that told hold of
states that flourished the banner of socialism or communism. you are
attacking a straw dog, while touting those aspects of societies you
admire that actually approach more successfully ideals of an egalitarian
distribution of wealth, which flies in the face of capitalism,
especially capitalism today.
you speak of progress as if it were evident. sorry, i would disagree.
just within my lifetime i have seen the great disparities of wealth
appear in the u.s.; have seen homeless appear in reagan and thatcher's
day, where before they were rare; have seen the continuing demise of the
inner cities. while the rich got richer.
maybe the 10% that hoard the wealth in many african states might be
criticized equally for following this model of accentuating disparities
in wealth and ignoring social services. that model is the neoliberal
model of the imf.
it is up to us to resist it. we don't have to call for a socialist
revolution to do so; but when we advocate for a movement back to greater
programs for the disinherited, for less freedom for companies to
generate profits for themselves, we are taxed as advocating socialism.
so be it.
ken
On 12/22/10 4:04 PM, Moses Ebe Ochonu wrote:
> Capitalism is flawed in many ways, but its excesses and flaws and
> their impacts on the poor can be mitigated while still harnessing its
> wealth-creating potential. There is no contradiction here, just nuance
> that is grounded in a quest for progress and the need to defeat or
> reduce extreme poverty.
--
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
No comments:
Post a Comment