The US is the lamest country EVER
- Thread starter MadDog
- Start date
Bradylama
So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
*sigh*
If the Coca-Cola bottling plant was never in Africa, the people that were employed by it, and their offspring, would still be uneducated. At least with the bottling plant they can afford to feed themselves.
All of this isn't touching on an even greater concern, being AIDs, which is slowly killing off Africa's work base and makes it impossible for them to develop.
Care to explain your preconceived notion? I'd like to know why I'm an idiot.
Because you blame all the poorness in underdeveloped countries on nothing but the fact that they have authoritarian governments (which is quite obviously bullshit, since authoritarian governments have often provided for flourishing economies (The Third Reich was the most obvious example)) and the fact that there are limitations on free enterprise. Limitations on free enterprise is a very ill-defined thing as well.
But besides that you fail to mention the histories of colonialism and exploitation, wars, capitalist exploitation, help being sent to governments that buy weapons, AIDS, social problems, food being sent but not the means to produce anything themselves, basically excluding the countries from participation in the modern capitalist world.
By the way, I didn't call you an idiot, I called your notion stupid. There's a difference.
But besides that you fail to mention the histories of colonialism and exploitation, wars, capitalist exploitation, help being sent to governments that buy weapons, AIDS, social problems, food being sent but not the means to produce anything themselves, basically excluding the countries from participation in the modern capitalist world.
By the way, I didn't call you an idiot, I called your notion stupid. There's a difference.
John Uskglass
Venerable Relic of the Wastes
Often forgotten, but Germany's economy was bouncing back towards the end of the Weimer days. Mousillini actually got really pissed when Hitler had the Jewish economist responsible for the bounce back assasinated.
I agree with Sander here by and large, but I think that anti-capitalist sentiment has hurt alot of African nations.
welsh
Junkmaster
The anti-capitalist sentiment that hurt African countries was very much in vogue in the 1970s when a lot of countries tried to become self sustaining. In Latin American you saw Import Substitution Strategies, in Africa you saw a variety of different models but much of it came down to exploitating of agriculture- often through predatory pricing at the commodity boards.
You guys are part right here- the problem with Africa is part a question of geography, part of it as to do with authoritarianism (in which case mostly the consequence of inheriting exploitive colonial administrations) and partly their subordinate position in the international heirarchy. Recurrent military coups and civil conflicts don't help either. A coca-cola plant is better than no plant at all.
That said, you folks are making one major mistake though in your analysis. You assume that most african countries actually have a capitalist system and seem to assume a modern capitalist system as found within the developed world. The mistake is perhaps that we often think of capitalism as a natural occurrence. It isn't. Capitalism relies on markets and markets are a public good provided for by states.
I would argue that most are still pre-capitalist and somewhat mercantilistic. Add that to a set of new predatory leaders and ability of states to look externally for financial credit that will sustain withering states, and you start to develop a better picture of the problem.
You guys are part right here- the problem with Africa is part a question of geography, part of it as to do with authoritarianism (in which case mostly the consequence of inheriting exploitive colonial administrations) and partly their subordinate position in the international heirarchy. Recurrent military coups and civil conflicts don't help either. A coca-cola plant is better than no plant at all.
That said, you folks are making one major mistake though in your analysis. You assume that most african countries actually have a capitalist system and seem to assume a modern capitalist system as found within the developed world. The mistake is perhaps that we often think of capitalism as a natural occurrence. It isn't. Capitalism relies on markets and markets are a public good provided for by states.
I would argue that most are still pre-capitalist and somewhat mercantilistic. Add that to a set of new predatory leaders and ability of states to look externally for financial credit that will sustain withering states, and you start to develop a better picture of the problem.