Walter Rodney begins by first defining and clarifying what he considers development and underdevelopment. He distinguishes between economic development, which he defines as a human's “capacity to win a living from nature”, and the use of the term developing country rather than underdeveloped country as the latter carries a negative connotation (Rodney 4). Chapter one also provides a clear definition for underdevelopment; underdevelopment is not the lack of development, but rather, the difference in development when compared to the rest of the countries in the world. Furthermore, Rodney provides a very brief outline of how the concept of development has evolved through the time of cavemen, capitalism, and the agricultural and industrial revolutions. …show more content…
Moreover, aside from the typical exploitation argument seen throughout history, chapter one also provides an example of a religious argument for why this inequality in countries exists; that is to say, those that are unequally better off believe that they are superior. Since Africa has been unable to develop properly they rely on foreign forces for most of their needs and as such this keeps funneling money out the continent and into foreign countries. This cycle leads to “ownership of production in one country by the citizens of another” (Rodney 22). Rodney explains that exploitation has always existed in humans, ranging from exploitation of the environment to exploitation of man, however, the greatest misfortune is the exploitation of nations by other nations. He ends the chapter by discussing the issues that have befallen Africa due to its underdevelopment including coups resulting from political instability. The people of Africa need to learn and understand the political system in order to work towards an overthrow explains …show more content…
Furthermore, the chapter revolves around production and how the development or underdevelopment of production techniques has impacted the continent. It explains that culture and religion also have their part in development and underdevelopment. Rodney explains that the “technology of earning a living changes very slowly” which is then accompanied by religious beliefs that also goes unchanged and it provides the perfect opportunity for exploitation by outsiders. Rodney uses examples of Marxism to show how Asia developed in such a way that European values couldn’t simply be implemented and as such exploitation became a much better alternative. Distinctions are made between communism to feudalism and eventually capitalism a process which took centuries in most of Europe. In Africa, however, the lack of labor organization and of new production techniques drastically increased the gap between these progressive eras causing Africa, which was agriculturally based before Europe arrived, to fall far behind the rest of the world. Rodney further explains that Africa’s land was communally owned which meant everyone was guaranteed enough land to be self-sufficient; moreover, this guarantee meant that the people of the area had no necessity to increase their production or land ownership. The chapter also goes into greater depths on how the
...ion of imperialism has evolved. In both Heart of Darkness by Conrad, and The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver, Africa is invaded and altered to conform to the desires of more “civilized” people. While this oppression in the Congo never seems to cease, the natives are consistently able to overcome the obstacles, and the tyrants, and thus prove to be civilized in their own regard and as capable of development as the white nations. As Orleanna says herself: “Call it oppression, complicity, stupefaction, call it what you’d like…Africa swallowed the conqueror’s music and sang a new song of her own” (Kingsolver 385). Kingsolver illustrates that though individuals may always seek to control and alter the region, the inhabitants and victims of the tyranny and oppression live on and continue past it, making the state of the area almost as perpetual as the desire to control it.
Furthermore, the relationship between slave labour and the growth of capitalism resulted in the colonial conquest of Africa by Europe. South Africa is a geological area that was drast...
With Europe in control, “the policies of the governing powers redirected all African trade to the international export market. Thus today, there is little in the way of inter-African trade, and the pattern of economic dependence continues.” Europeans exported most of the resources in Africa cheaply and sold them costly, which benefited them, but many Africans worked overtime and were not treated with care.
International Development and the Social Sciences, pp. 259-290. University of California Press,. Rostow, W.W. (1960) “The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto.” pp.
It is thought-provoking, in the sense that Africa’s need for foreign created a race to the bottom, much like what Pietra Rivoli described in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Due to some African states’ reliance on foreign aid in order to mine and profit on their resources, they allow business standards to be lowered and for Chinese firms to tip the contracts moresoever in the favor of Chinese firms. This lowers the potential earnings of African states by lowering royalty rates, for example. Additionally, Burgis’ research was thorough and transparent. When he did not receive a response or if his questions were dodged, he made it obvious to the readers. Sure, some could view this book as too anecdotal to be used as a credible source of Africa’s situation. However, this is due to the nature of the system Burgis is writing about; after all, they are shadow states for a reason. Some readers will be saddened by this text, others angry, most curious to learn more, but above all, everyone will be intellectually stimulated and
The changes in African life during the slave trade era form an important element in the economic and technological development of Africa. Although the Atlantic slave trade had a negative effect on both the economy and technology, it is important to understand that slavery was not a new concept to Africa. In fact, internal slavery existed in Africa for many years. Slaves included war captives, the kidnapped, adulterers, and other criminals and outcasts. However, the number of persons held in slavery in Africa, was very small, since no economic or social system had developed for exploiting them (Manning 97). The new system-Atlantic slave trade-became quite different from the early African slavery. The influence of the Atlantic slave trade brought radical changes to the economy of Africa.
To present his argument, Ferguson uses the first three chapters to define and analyse the concept of development. In this analysis he implicitly implies that there is a gap between what is planned and what is implemented in development schemes, that development is a gross injustice. This theme is continued throughout the book and can be seen over and again other examples that Ferguson uses. The next two chapters ...
When looking through the topic of development, two drastically different ways to assess it arise. The majority of the western world looks at development in terms of per capita GNP. This means each country is evaluated on a level playing field, comparing the production of each country in economic value. Opposite this style of evaluation is that of the alternative view, which measures a country’s development on its ability to fulfill basic material and non-material needs. Cultural ties are strong in this case as most of the population does not produce for wealth but merely survival and tradition.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney, was one of the most controversial books in the world at the time of its release. The book seeks to argue that European exploitation and involvement in Africa throughout history. This is the cause of current African underdevelopment, and the true path to the development is for Africa to completely sever her ties with the international capitalist economy. Rodney describes his goal in writing the book in the preface: “this book derives from a concern with the contemporary African situation. It delves into the past only because otherwise it would be impossible to understand how the present came into being and what the trends are for the near future” (vii). Rodney writes from a distinctly Marxist perspective by arguing that the inequalities inherent in European capitalism and required exploitation of certain countries in order to sustain capitalism.
McMichael, Philip, ed 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, 5th ed. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
The rise of development theory has been an interesting phenomenon. In the latter half of the 20th century, many theorists have tried to explain the origins of "under-development." The debate over the idea of development has been intense, and has led to the emergence of two contending paradigms: Modernization theory and dependency theory. Upon close investigation, one realizes that both theories are problematic. This paper is based on readings of Escobar, Martinussen, Cruise O'Brien, and Pieterse. The purpose of this paper is to chronicle the origins and growth of development discourse, and to show how both paradigms share three flaws: an economist approach to social change, and an ethnocentric and teleological worldview of development, and the perceived universal application of the West's development experience throughout the developing world.
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.
These tragic circumstances could have been partly caused by the massive economic dislocation caused by the slave trade and colonization of the 19th and 20th century (Hopkins 13). Colonial powers representing outside interest setup “extractive institutions” across Africa. These “Extractive Institutions” refer to those entities that exist for the sole purpose of pull resources out of a country. Now that many of the colonialist powers have left, these “European-style institutions” still exist well into the turn of the century.
in relation to development. Development is explained by the Oxford Dictionary as the process of developing or developed in a specified state of growth or advancement. Underdeveloped as according to the Oxford Dictionary is ‘not fully developed or not advanced economically’ which is meant for a country or a region. We can certainly see the difference between underdeveloped and developed where the changing situation emerges from the economic point of view. To be more specific, worlds within world were created i.e. the nomenclature of First World and Third World came into picture. The First World is said to be the industrialised, capitalist countries of Western Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand who are developed (as explained in the definition). The Third World includes the developing countries of- Asia, Africa and Latin America who are still in the mode of developing. Normally we understand the situation of underdevelopment is because the third world was under the colonies or the colonial rule for a certain period of time and lags behind the first world in every aspects like- social, economical, political, technological advancements which are yet to be seen in the third world fully like the first world. In this paper we will talk about various theorists from - Karl Marx (capitalism and class conflict), Kay and Amin (merchant capitalism, colonialism and neo-colonialism), Vladimir Lenin (imperialism), Andre Gunder Frank (third world dependency), Lipton (urban bias) and dependency theory. Here in this paper we will try to explain and understand the relevance of the various underdevelopment theories and different attributes related to it terms of the Indian Context.
Throughout history, Africa has been a vulnerable player in the eyes of the rest of the world. From the slave trade to various civil right injustices that have taken place over in every century, from what we have studied in this class, we have been able to see the lasting impact on the continent as a ramification of certain events occurring. Using various sources from the text, which serve as evidence, and help prove how the western world exercised its power in order to capitalize on the African continent and exploit the African people and land.