Neo-Liberalism and the Resource Curse of Africa
Neo-liberalism and the resource curse of Africa
Globalization is described as the accelerated flow of goods/services, information and people but since colonialism theses flows have permitted many countries (the West) to build strong states, governments and accumulation of wealth ; while others ( Africa) were still held back by political instability, social inequality and economic injustice. Inequality in African countries puts Africa in a pre and post modernist era, and with such instability the neo-liberalism concept adapted in the global contemporary capitalist system has caused chaos, more instability and uneven share of wealth. The initiation of African developing countries into a global capitalist system associated with neo-liberalism has accentuated the problems in these countries.
Africa is a continent rich with petroleum, gold mines, minerals, rhinestone and so many more but the exploitation of these riches have been and are still ongoing by the West and thanks to neo-liberalism and its policies it has made it even easier for Africa to be exploited and used. Neo-liberalism is defined as a theory of political economic practices proposing that human well-being can best be advanced by the maximization of entrepreneurial freedoms within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, individual liberty, unencumbered markets, and free trade (Harvey 22). (Caffentzis 2002) is a scholar who focuses on developing countries and policies, describes neo-liberalism as a theory where all human activity is always already a commodity and it is to organize these activities through a market…the True, the Good, the Just, the Beautiful and every other capitalized ideal become, in the neoliberal gaze, the many veiled form of the Commodity. Ultimately this ideology should allow Africa to develop based on its abundance of resources but neo-liberalism comes with principles and policies that do not benefit a continent with unstable economic growth. (Kass
Globalization is described as the accelerated flow of goods/services, information and people but since colonialism theses flows have permitted many countries (the West) to build strong states, governments and accumulation of wealth ; while others ( Africa) were still held back by political instability, social inequality and economic injustice. Inequality in African countries puts Africa in a pre and post modernist era, and with such instability the neo-liberalism concept adapted in the global contemporary capitalist system has caused chaos, more instability and uneven share of wealth. The initiation of African developing countries into a global capitalist system associated with neo-liberalism has accentuated the problems in these countries.
Africa is a continent rich with petroleum, gold mines, minerals, rhinestone and so many more but the exploitation of these riches have been and are still ongoing by the West and thanks to neo-liberalism and its policies it has made it even easier for Africa to be exploited and used. Neo-liberalism is defined as a theory of political economic practices proposing that human well-being can best be advanced by the maximization of entrepreneurial freedoms within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, individual liberty, unencumbered markets, and free trade (Harvey 22). (Caffentzis 2002) is a scholar who focuses on developing countries and policies, describes neo-liberalism as a theory where all human activity is always already a commodity and it is to organize these activities through a market…the True, the Good, the Just, the Beautiful and every other capitalized ideal become, in the neoliberal gaze, the many veiled form of the Commodity. Ultimately this ideology should allow Africa to develop based on its abundance of resources but neo-liberalism comes with principles and policies that do not benefit a continent with unstable economic growth. (Kass
Bibliography: Caffentzis, George. "Neoliberalism in Africa, Apocalyptic Failures and Business as Usual Practices." Alternatives-Turkish Journal of International Relations (2002). Harvey, David. "Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (2007): 22-23. IANRA. 2012. IANRA. ianra.org/component/content/article/54/54. 20 April 2012. Kass, Amanda. "Neoliberal Nigeria, The United States, and Oil: Linking Production and Consumption." Research dIstinction (2008): 4-5. https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/32236/thesis.pdf?.. Sala-I-Martin, Xavier. "Adressing the Natural REsource Curse: An illustration from Nigeria ." IMF Working PAper (2003): 4-5. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2003/wp03139.pdf.