...Africa’s contributions to the capitalist development of Europe-the colonial period.] Here Walter talks about how surplus was drawn from Africa to develop capitalism in the metropolitan sector. “Colonialism was not merely a system of exploitation but one whose essential purpose was to repatriate the profit to the so called mother land” [page 177].It means that the development of Europe as a part of the same dialectical process which Africa was Underdeveloped. African labourwas cheap. The employer often required more from the worker but paid him less not even enough to maintain his physical self. This was not the case in Europe when feudalism gave way to capitalism. Employers paid their employees a living wage. Wages paid to workers in Europe and North America was far higher than that of Africans. The Africans were discriminated from occupying official positions and even when they did they were paid less compared to the wages of the European officials. This chapter’s main point is to explain how much greater was the exploitation of African workers. Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa Part 4-6 The fourth chapter is entitled Europe and the Roots of African underdevelopment to 1885. It evaluates the European slave trace as a dominant factor in African underdevelopment, all in the interest of European capitalism. Further, a penetrating discuss on the advancement of Europe technology as against that of Africa which is stagnant (this culminating into a distorted economy)...
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...BOOK TITLE – HOW EUROPE UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA AUTHOR –WALTER RODNEY (1972) Re: Published by Panaf Publishing Incorporated, Abuja – Nigeria. (By arrangement with Howard University Press, Washington) Book page: 361 (Three Hundred and sixty one) REVIEWER: NSE VICTOR O. Modern Africa historians have correctly stressed that Africa had a meaningful past long before the coming of the Europeans. Also Africa has been argued to be the cradle of the world civilization, but whether or not Africa went to sleep or signed a supposed amiable pact with Europe and the Western Bloc which paved way for the woeful turn of events contemporary is contentions. For a full appreciated of the situation that present reputable scholars have argued that “for Africa to move forward, it must be understood backwards”. It is based on the outlined issues sketched above that this book was written. The piece of literature is arranged in chapters from one to six with thought provoking and are stimulating issue at each chapter. A post script as well as a biography of the author is attached at the latter part of the literature. A chapter by chapter method of review have been adopted to do justice to this work for an incisive appreciation. The conceptualization of the notion of development and underdevelopment took the central stage in the first chapter, as the author attempted a penetrating analysis into the duo concepts in order to demystify their justification of capitalism which myopically conceives economic...
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...The term development is wrapped in a lot of controversy, there is a lot of ambiguity surrounding this term and various writers have come up with various definitions of development, however, we cannot have any single definition for this term because of the multi- facetedness and multi-dimensional form that development takes. Development can mean different things to different people and how one views development is usually affected by their own perceptions of life. There is basically the Afrocentric and the Eurocentric views to development, thus what one can regard as development can be viewed in a different light by others. There is no one simple straight forward way to define development.Hoogvelt(1978)defines development as a logical connection between growth and change. Allen and Thomas (2000) view development as generally implying an all-encompassing change, not just change in one aspect. Development can be viewed as a positive change but the problem is the process of change can actually be undesirable to other people who may lose or disrupt their way of life in order to pave way for development. As a result Allen and Thomas (2000) are quick to point out that it may be impossible to achieve good change on a continuous basis without destroying something previously held dear, such as traditional values and forms of livelihood or a sense of control over day to day life. A Eurocentric definition of development could be the definition given by the Brandt Report (1980) which takes...
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...History always requires us to place things in their context and to avoid judging the past through the eyes of the present. But this is not true and it’s actually the opposite looking at the ideological forces that have shaped North (First World) and South (Third World) countries relations for half a century. In this essay one will be looking at the question of to what extend can the process of colonialism be blamed for the problems being experienced by developing countries today? Also matters pertaining to African migration, the spread of Islam, gold and slaves will be included in this essay as they are central to the process of colonialism. Towards the end of the last century, with a long history already behind it European colonization branched out in quite different forms according to the place and the interests of the metropolis. According to Thirlwell (1994:60) it was “a transitional period in which brutal power relations existed alongside paternalist feelings of responsibility towards natives who needed to be civilised” thus, great powers put the then dominant ideas into practice opening up the way to the so called “development” (Thirlwell, 1994). According to Rist (1997:100) “colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another”. The term colony comes from the Latin word colonus, meaning farmer. Thus, one believes that this root reminds us that the practice of colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new...
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...territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline. The level of government control required to avoid being considered a failed state varies considerably amongst authorities. Furthermore, the declaration that a state has "failed" is generally controversial and, when made authoritatively, may carry significant geopolitical consequences. Example: Modernization theory Discussion Question:In what ways has the first world adversely affected Africa’s development? Does modernization theory have any validity in regards to Africa? The modernization theory of the 1950s is rooted in capitalism and suggests that society drastically change by giving up the traditional views and adopts new ideas and values. The theory is mainly about Africa leaving their traditional ways behind in favour of the European way of...
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...There are many reasons to suggest that debt has become the main obstacle to the underdeveloped countries, Rostow believes that for development to work, countries need to go through a certain process. Rostow argues that development should be seen as an evolutionary process in which countries progress ladder of five stages, stage one being at the bottom, i.e. societies which rely on subsidence farming and stage five being at the ultimate stage of development. However there are many countries which are not progressing naturally up this ladder of development, Item A tells us ‘all this was beyond the financial capacity of such countries and as a result a mountain of debt was built up as they were encouraged to catch up with the West’. This could be giving us the idea that in fact, these countries are being pushed into ‘catching up with the west’ getting themselves into debt which they can’t pay back, which is preventing them from moving their way up the ladder. This is the case for many countries with the exception to Tiger countries, many of these underdeveloped countries are remaining at stage one; this essay will assess the possible reasons for this lack of development. Many sociologists will suggest that the lack of development is because of the increase of debt. In 1980, the developing world owed the West $600 billion; however, by 1998 this had increased to $2.2 trillion. This is showing how much the developing world really was in debt. There are numerous reasons dependency theorists...
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...Colonialism: The One-Armed Bandit In every essay that we have read over the past few weeks, all of the authors talk about how colonialism has ultimately destroyed Africa and their hopes of ever being as great as the other leader nations. Authors like Maria Mies, Walter Rodney, and Jerry Kloby all contribute different explanations as to how the European colonizers have basically destroyed Africa. Mies explains how Africa has no chance of “catching-up” to the other developed countries because of European colonialism. Rodney disputes the claims that colonialism has modernized Africa and how the new advancements being brought in by the colonizers were being more used against Africans than to help them. Then Kloby helps us look at real examples of different times in which colonialism has hurt Africans more than helped them. All of these authors have come to one clear consensus: colonialism has ultimately destroyed Africa’s chances of becoming a great and powerful continent. In Mies’ essay, she tends to be very pessimistic about the Africa being able to “catch-up” to other already developed countries. Mies says that, “the poverty of the underdeveloped nations is not as a result of ‘natural’ lagging behind but the direct consequence of the overdevelopment of the rich industrial countries who exploit the so-called periphery in Africa” (151). She denies that possibility that Africa can catch up by following the same path of industrialization, technological progress, and capital accumulation as...
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...African Journal of History and Culture Vol. 3(5), pp. 65-72, June 2011 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJHC ISSN 2141-6672 ©2011 Academic Journals Review A critique of modernization and dependency theories in Africa: Critical assessment J. Matunhu Department of Development Studies, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. E-mail: matunhuj@msu.ac.zw. Accepted 6 April, 2011 The way states and development specialists rationalize how to commit economic resources to development is influenced, to a greater extent by their level of persuasion towards specific development theories. The discourse assesses the influence of modernization and dependency theories on Africa’s development. The conclusion is that both theories have failed to help develop Africa. The discourse pins hope on the African Renaissance theory of development. Key words: Modernization, dependency, rural underdevelopment, African renaissance. INTRODUCTION Africa houses plentiful economic resources. Paradoxically, the continent languishes in poverty as evidenced by high prevalence of famine, disease and ignorance (Buthelezi, 2007). This presentation attributes the poverty to theories of development because the way society deals with underdevelopment is influenced by development theories. The presentation assesses the effect of modernity and dependency theories on Africa’s development and concludes by recommending the adoption of the African Renaissance theory to Africa’s development. In this presentation...
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...Superpowers geography How is power exercised and maintained? Direct power in the most obvious way of exercising and maintaining power. Exercise of direct power • British imperialism – wholesale conquest of countries. Insurgency put down by force. • Military power – US navy has 12 aircraft carriers and 70 submarines. It is the most powerful military machine on Earth. It established a ring of bases to surround the USSR in the Cold War era, as part of its policy of containment. The Iraq war saw the USA effectively “go it alone.” • Some economic power is direct. The USA plays a major role in world trade, much of which is conducted in $. The US $ is the world’s reserve currency. • A key area of US international prestige since the 1960s has been the exploration of space. 1969 saw men on the moon. The USA aims to build a moon base by 2020 and visit Mars by 2037. Exercise of indirect power • Neo-colonialism (term coined by Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana) is a form of indirect control over developing counties, most of them former colonies. Has neo-colonialism prevented any real development progress in the 40 years since colonies gained their independence? Africa could lead us to say yes. India could lead us to say no. • Some people say the IGOs were set up by superpowers for superpowers. The IMF was set up in 1944. It has its headquarters in Washington. Counties wishing to have their debt relieved have to apply Western...
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...Identify and discuss the key features of both Functionalist and Marxist theories. [25 Marks] Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed. According to Haralambos and Holborn (2008), a theory is a set of ideas which attempts to explain how something works. Functionalism is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology which explains how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. Marxism is a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order and is derived from the works of Karl Max. Functionalism has its origins in the works of Durkheim, E who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. Functionalist theory has got its main features and other theories have different views towards it. Value consensus is one of the key features of functionalist theory. Value consensus forms the fundamental integrating principle in society. The functionalist subscribes that the majority of the people in a community share common goals and only a few deviants oppose. This is supported by Haralambos and Holborn (2008) that if members of society are committed to the same values, they will tend to share a common...
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...COLONIALISM IN AFRICA How does the legacy of colonialism affect contemporary African international relations? If questioned today about Africa in general the first reactions I would have are poor governance, poverty, conflict, economic instability and hunger. These are the major characteristics that dominate most of the states within the continent as a whole. The question would be has it always been this way? Different debates and differences have been focused on the colonial legacy for post-colonial Africa and the nature of colonialism. Various characterizations and conceptions tend to differ considerably among the international relations and African scholars. Between 1800 and 1900, majority of the European powers colonized the African continent. Colonialism, a political-economic occurrence whereby the various European nations exploited, took over, explored and settled down in great parts of the world still has a far reaching impact on the African continent. The colonialists; prolonged their ways of living beyond their domestic borders, economically exploited their colonies natural resources and this was done in order to strengthen and develop the colonies of the West and lastly created new markets. The African continent was indirectly impacted on the social, political, economic and cultural way of living. The colonial legacy is the inheritance of the state that belonged to the colonial administration from this administration by post-colonial rulers in Africa[1]....
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...Identify and discuss the key features of both Functionalist and Marxist theories. [25 Marks] Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed. According to Haralambos and Holborn (2008), a theory is a set of ideas which attempts to explain how something works. Functionalism is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology which explains how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. Marxism is a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order and is derived from the works of Karl Max. Functionalism has its origins in the works of Durkheim, E who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. Functionalist theory has got its main features and other theories have different views towards it. Value consensus is one of the key features of functionalist theory. Value consensus forms the fundamental integrating principle in society. The functionalist subscribes that the majority of the people in a community share common goals and only a few deviants oppose. This is supported by Haralambos and Holborn (2008) that if members of society are committed to the same values, they will tend to share a common...
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...In “The Causes and Motivations for the Scramble for Africa” by Stephen Pinkerton this article, it explains that the motivations that in the late nineteenth century, that Europeans and Americans progressively believed that they were bound to extend their way of culture abroad.New Imperialism Era that Europe gained global power through expansion and colonization. They society and economy in Africa were disrupted due to settlers.The European hunger for resources and markets caused decades of armed conflicts and thousands of deaths and lastly Africa resulted in being extremely diverse. The author Pinkerton also compared the colonization of Africa to “the White Man's Burden” a poem by English man about the Philippines. 1899. About how it was the...
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...Harvard c. Berkeley d. San Francisco State 4. Denmark Vesey slave conspiracy took place in a. Connecticut b. Virginia c. South Carolina d. Louisiana 5. Oludah Equiano was the first African-American to a. Write his autobiography b. Escape from Slavery c. Purchase his freedom d. Killed trying to escape 6. The first African-American Heavyweight Champion a. Booker Washington b. John L Sullivan c. Jim Jefferies d. Jack Johnson 7. This author of A Tradition of Myths and Stereotypes: a. Joseph Harris b. Edith Sanders c. Eric Williams d. Walter Rodney 8. How many Africans were brought to the New World during the Atlantic Slave Trade according to Phillip Cutain; a. 60-100 million b. 9-11.5 million c. 3 million d. 57 million 9. “Chattel” was the term used to refer: a. slaves b. property c. real estate d. money 10. The legal process used by some Northern states to eliminate slavery: a. emancipation day b. freedom summer c. gradual emancipation d. emancipation proclamation 11. The informal network used by enslaved Africans to...
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...law of the land. All crimes are evil acts. However, some crimes are those acts which are not punishable by the law of the land, even though they are evil acts. A person who is involved in crimes is known as a criminal. The word crime, in a broad sense, is defined as an act which violates either a political law or a moral law. In the narrower sense of the term, the word crime is defined as a violation of the criminal law. Most violations that take place at traffic signals on the roads are considered to be breaches of contracts, but they are not considered to be crimes in the legal sense of the term. Anything that is in violation of the penal code of a country is considered to be a crime. Third world The economically underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America, considered as an entity with common characteristics, such as poverty, high birthrates, and economic dependence on the advanced countries. The French demographer Alfred Sauvy coined the expression ("tiers monde" in French) in 1952 by analogy with the "third estate," the commoners of France before and during the French Revolution-as opposed to priests and nobles, comprising the first and second estates respectively. Like the third estate, wrote Sauvy, the third world is nothing, and it "wants to be something." The term therefore implies that the third world is exploited, much as the third estate was exploited, and that, like the third estate its destiny is a revolutionary one. It conveys as well...
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