Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the most prominent economists of the world, in his widely known book, the End of Poverty, published last year, gives us a lengthy assessment how he could deal with Third World's poverty, especially that of Africa. Though I had read the book long ago, I did not have the opportunity to take my pen and give some critical remarks. Some of my countrymen have given their comments about the merits and the demerits of the book.
I thought, however, that it is still worth to give certain critical remarks on my side, which were not raised and discussed by them. Since I have been dealing with development economics for a long time which is a very erroneous and very misguiding field, I dear to say that I could have some illuminating idea that could open new avenue of development for our country which is the victim of poor understanding of human civilization, which has been practiced by Western educated technocrats, neo-colonial economic policy which has been practiced since the last five decades, and global economic order which is setup by Capitalist countries.
Due to his prominent position as a Professor in one of the best universities in the world, and a close adviser of the General Secretary of the United Nations, Mr. Koffi Annan, Prof. Sachs will have great influence on many governments of the Third World countries when he writes such a book.
The End of Poverty is a very lengthy analysis from a classical and neo-classical point of view which encompasses the most known facts, that poor people are poor because they are poor, and lack of saving vis-à-vis capital one of the causes of poverty, which are seen by most neo-liberal economists of our day who have great impacts in shaping our mode of thoughts and handlings.
In his approach of finding the real causes of poverty, Prof. Sachs uses as a methodology the differential diagnosis, which he has borrowed from medical science.
In his belief this is the only methodological approach to detect and study the real causes of the problem of poverty and give remedy once-for-all to eradicate underdevelopment. In order to come to a once-for-all panacea of alleviating poverty, he takes as an example the economic situations of Europe during the middle ages, and how Europe had overcome successfully poverty and dieses and developed science and technology which enables her to dominate the world.
For Europe to dominate the world technologically, Prof. Sachs sees that Europe has the ability or the opportunity which enable her to increase production and income and not because Europe or America have exploited the rest of the world. For the great success of technological revolution in Europe, especially in Great Britain,
Prof. Sachs is of the opinion that the openness of the English society and its favorable institutions are the main factors which enabled her to break itself from old norms which have arrested economic development for a long time. With no doubt the more open a society and its institutions are, people could emancipate themselves from old values and become the master of technology which is the basis of further development.
The openness of a given society depends on a variety of factors. Some individuals who see better than others that their society could not live any more by extolling old values and social orders which hamper technological innovation bring new ideas to illuminate the minds of the ruling classes or certain strata of the population. When certain groups who are enlightened enough are challenging old values and determined to introduce new norms and work methods which could serve as engine of social and economic development, the road to progress and social emancipation will be enhanced.
In this case the English society had the privilege to have very good institutions, not only in the late Middle Ages but also during the early feudal ages which helped it to introduce new social norms that could slowly eradicate old values and pave the way for creative activities based on individual freedom.
More than that: to take technological lead the favorable atmosphere of the English society during the 16th century and later on had invited many leading handy craft specialists from Antwerp and Italy and other European countries which enabled Great Britain to diffuse all these ideas which came from other countries.
In addition to this the education system which was solely based on rhetoric, language and philosophy, which was normal during that time in some European countries, opened the minds of the English society which is the basis of intellectual development of various sorts. This combined with the above factors have enabled the English society to break up itself from darkness and march towards technological mastery. The renaissance of the 14th and the 15th century had also great impacts in raising the cognitive powers of not only the English society but also most European countries which was more expressed in city buildings.
Far trade through which many innovative ideas came and the unequal exchange trade which were later on understood as the main causes of further accumulation had strengthened the economic basis of not only the English society but also many European counties. As Great Britain understood that extended capital accumulation was only possible when other nations became the sources of raw materials and agricultural products, it developed different devises to undermine development efforts in other countries.
Hence the development of the theory of International trade accentuated by liberal ideas is seen as the main engine of economic development in all countries. Adam Smith, and later on David Ricardo had developed the theory of absolute and comparative advantages successively to cement the English supremacy in technological fields and block innovations in other countries. Especially, Adam Smith fought the idea of mercantilism which until the 17th century enabled many absolutist states in Europe to develop home market by supporting active balance payment policies and through encouraging manufacture activities without which the idea of Europe as we see it today could not be formed and control the world.
The education system could not only open the minds of the English society; the society became also the real breeding ground of empiricist idea which poisoned many intellectuals in Europe and was systematically fought by Leibniz and others who were emerged in the footsteps of Plato and Cusanus, who saw in it the danger of egoism and continuous war.
More than other European countries some English intellectuals, like Hobbes, Locke, and other empiricists had understood to develop their own version of understanding the human mind and how they could manipulate it so that it could become the victim of oligarchic rules. Accordingly, human beings act and direct their behaviors by bringing forth their built-in egoistic motives which is the deriving force of maximizing their wishes or needs. Hence human needs are unlimited.
As Hobbes said individuals who are not guided by the motives of utility maximization behave like animals. On the other hand Leibniz believed that human beings are rational beings and could develop new ideas to shape their own fate. In order that they could behave and handle rationally, and see themselves as part of a given society they must be taught not by empiricist idea but by real idea which can be investigated by means of dialectics.
Starting the 17th century on wards we witness that there is an intense struggle between these schools of thoughts, namely those who uphold the idea of empiricism, first developed by the Greek Sophists, and by philosophers who believed that every human being is endowed by birth with idea, which is the source of true knowledge.
The clear understanding of the differences of these two schools of thought is the basis of any social and economic development. Without understanding these two divergent ideas, one cannot grasp the essence of economic underdevelopment in so many African countries, and the global economic order which is absorbing human and material resources to enrich few nations, and dislocating millions of people from their natural habitats by destroying their long history and culture.
The question why Europe could achieve industrial development and successfully dominate the world technologically cannot be understood in a manner as Adam Smith tries to teach us which Prof. Sachs quotes.
The so-called invisible hand and the division of labour of Adam Smith are outcomes of long historical and social processes which are unique in the European social formations. One cannot depict the achievement of Europe in the field of science and technology without tracing Europe's history to that of the Greek and the Egyptian civilization.
In this case Europe is the child of the Egyptian and the Greek civilization without which the concept of Europe as we see it today could not have been successful. As historical investigations prove that the transmission of the Greek knowledge which is borrowed from Egypt and philosophically improved to alleviate the cognitive power of the European mind in order to let it the Master of Science and technology was brought by the Arabs and the Jews to the then backward and impoverished Europe.
Thanks to the great efforts of Arab philosophers that had interpreted the Greek literatures into Latin which became the foundations of European civilization.
Various philosophers and Churchmen who came to the political scene after the 5th century A.D had intensively studied the secret of the Greek philosophy and fought in their capacity to change man's attitude towards nature and God. The appearance of critical minded Churchmen who were opposing the omnipotence of the catholic religion, which until the end of the middle ages had arrested the minds of the European people and made it the victim of disease and darkness, is very crucial indeed in changing the European society.
The revolt from within the church on one side, and the power struggle between the Monarchs and the Popes on the other hand at various times had given air to the development of different attitudes and began eroding the power structure of the clergy. City buildings starting the 13th century on wards and the concentration of people in certain areas and the rapid growth of hand craft activities and trade which culminated into the division of labour had by itself helped the emergence of new scientific ideas. Hence the Copernican revolution which was followed by those scientists like Galileo Galilee and others had totally changed the minds of the European society.
The 14th and the 15th century of renaissance which came to the scene by opposing darkness and poverty had illuminated the European mind and taught it that man is capable of changing his environment when he is scientifically guided. The reappearance of the Greek civilization was a new challenge to the then socially rigid European society which gave him new power to be ruled not any more by old norms and values which made him the victim of natural calamities but by reason and rational ideas.
The introduction of mathematical idea and the quantification of productive activities and registering them orderly give the European people the power of controlling nature. Nature is seen the source of everything which could be utilized in the proper way when the human mind nurtured with true knowledge. Hence man cannot be any more the victim of natural disorder but its master when he is equipped with true knowledge. Though we could witness that there were diverse ideas which were opposing diametrically in interpreting the development of idea, the reappearance of the Greek civilization is the clue of the success of European civilization.
Beginning the 16th century, the competition among the different European nations and the birth of the concept of the idea of nation-state gave the European people a unique dynamism which brought them together to live under one rule and law. Absolute states were determined to destroy everything which was barrier to nation-state building. They broke the old feudal and local administration structures which were obstacles to social movements from one region to the other; paved the way for the free movement of capital and labour.
They had destroyed all forms of internal regulations and taxes which were seen as the main hindrances for the emerging of home market. Only by effectively introducing new administration mechanisms which were supportive of market economic principles the development of the division of labour and it’s strengthening became fastened. Absolute Monarchies of the 16th and 17th centuries were aware of the need of constantly modifying their administration structures which they believed could improve technological development.
As the division of labour became the main engine of technological development, and the necessary of trade became as the main mechanism of fastening the valorization of capital, a new and dynamic class which was highly motivated and culturally advanced became to the political scene which began challenging the old orders. The intermarriage of different classes and the diffusion of ideas gave new dynamism which by itself paved the way to a coherent idea.
On the other side to read the economic development of Europe as a smooth process without social exploitation and peasant upheaval like Adam Smith had tried to teach us could not be compatible to the real social processes which had molded the European society, especially that of the English. More than other continents of the world, the economic exploitation of the masses in most European economies is well documented; and without the primitive accumulation of the masses which was extended to child labour, capital accumulation which helped economic development could not be understood.
The uniqueness of the European feudal social structure, which is well analyzed by the well known European historians, and which was not found in other social formations was a factor by itself for the disintegration of the system and pave the way for the capitalistic production system. The European serfdom which was known for its very exploitative nature was challenged by the peasant movements in most European countries, and the peasants gained bargaining power which improved their social status.
The introduction of far trade activities and the accumulation of money capital in the hands of the merchants and the debt mechanism which had arrested the feudal and the aristocratic class had loosened the social fabrics of the feudal system in Europe. The putting-out system which enabled the merchant class to dictate the hand craft activities of the rural population, and the improvement of technologies and hence production activities which enabled better productivity of consumption goods is a unique phenomena which could not be found in Africa or Asia.
Adding to this, allocation of slave labour for road building and city construction, and the flow of ideas among the different European countries had by itself helped raise the cultural activities of the masses. Without well-designed cities and without market halls and places the exchange of goods and services were practically impossible. Without allocating mass labour which is unique in the European history we could not have seen such gigantic cities and cathedrals.
These and the above factors have great impacts in shaping the economic development of Europe and the development of the social division of labour which was highlighted by Adam Smith but not taken as prerequisite for the development of technological and social division of labour. The fact that technological innovations and economic development were seen beyond the scope of time and space are one of the characteristic features in Smith's illustrations of the division of labour.
We could witness from this brief analysis that the unique social formation in the European history, and the intellectual and the social movements which Europe had the privilege to raise itself above other nations, and the development of idea which is emanated from the human mind, and which was well understood by the European intellectuals of the 14th to the 17th century were the main driving factors for the introduction of a science driven technological development in the European society.
The intellectual movement which is unique to the European society and the diffusion of diverse ideas and the scientific arguments forwarded by the different scholars to enhance their views gave a unique impetus to technological development. This is being the case, in areas where feudal social orders were the rule of the system, and social movements were restricted, the introduction of new technology and the break up of feudal administration structures were necessary factors which paved the way for industrialization.
Through the mirror of technological developments in Europe during the last 200 years, Prof. Sachs tries to investigate the causes of poverty in many African countries by applying differential diagnosis as means of detecting economic underdevelopment.
According to Prof. Sachs there are eight major factors which are the causes of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa. If one takes one by one and examines them most of the points are simply neo-liberal repetitions, and are effects and not the causes of poverty and real underdevelopment. The mysterious thing is how poverty becomes the cause of economic stagnation is not clear; though economic stagnation or technological backwardness by itself could be one of the main causes of poverty.
Again, if one applies the methodology of dialectical investigation, there are other factors which could be the causes of economic underdevelopment and poverty. Demographic problems, physical geography and the special climatic conditions which are exceptions of many tropical countries could in some way or the other hamper social developments if they are not tackled systematically and scientifically, and as such could not be the main causes of underdevelopment.
If we look at the history of Europe, especially during the middle and late Middle Ages, most European countries were breeding grounds of mosquitoes. Only drying the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, and plastered the earth with special stones and building well designed cities and market places, mosquitoes could disappear from most European countries. In the 1950s the Chinese did the same thing while they turned down the advices of European governments to spread DDT, which they saw clearly that DDT could not eradicate Malaria.
In this case, special climatic conditions which favored such kinds of Insects, when treated scientifically will be controlled and their total disappearance is a matter of further scientific investigation. From this perspective if we examine the situations in many African counties in the last 50 years, simply spreading DDT could not eradicate mosquitoes. We witness that mosquitoes have the ability to adapt themselves to DDT and could not be simply victimized by such measures.
Since most African governments are indifferent to scientifically based social and economic development and since they do not have any social responsibility they resort every time to old methods to tackle such kinds of Insects which hamper social progress. As Prof. Sachs and others are forwarding that mosquitoes could not be eradicated from the African soil by simply distributing bed nets.
In his analysis, Prof. Sachs tells us that through his new method of differential diagnosis he found the real causes of poverty and at the same time the instruments by which one could systematically eradicate poverty. Though he tells us here and there that he has gone through development theories, he has completely ignored all the theoretical debates of the 1950s to the 1980s which had great impacts in shaping development models in many Third World countries, and had failed for various reasons.
First of all the transformation of the European feudal society to capitalism, which were well studied and analysed by European and American economic historians are not of great concern for Prof. Sachs, though such kinds of discussions are parts of development economics and should not be rejected or neglected out rightly as if they did not take place. Secondly, the modernization theory which has focused on the problem of traditional societies and how one could overcome backwardness by means of growth poll which could be trickled down and overwhelms the entire society should had been discussed at length.
Thirdly, the answer to this modernization came especially from Third World Economists who have profound knowledge of European economic history. Andre Gunder Frank, Samir Amin, Arghiri Emmanuel, etc. to mention some, and the French structural school, mainly represented by Althuser and Balibar and other highly educated anthropologists with field work experiences, have influenced the development/underdevelopment debate.
Prof. Sachs ignores these facts, though they are parts of the economic development theory and obligations to be visited by development theory students. The above intellectuals have demonstrated well how Europe had exploited Africa, first of all through colonial trade by subjugating African peasants to specialize in certain agricultural products which are designed for European markets.
By building infrastructures to promote export products, the European colonialists have systematically sabotaged the development of the home market in many African countries. Extracting activities had connections to the mother countries, and could not serve as the basis of further capital accumulation from within. In addition to this the banking activities which were centered in many colonial cities had the purpose of financing trade and not industries and technological development in various African countries. These factors hampered economic development and disintegrated the African society.
Even more, the colonial administrations had destructed the divisions of labour which had existed until the arrival of colonialists, and the labour force was allocated in selected areas which are vital for European capital accumulation. With this the creative activity of the Africans came to a halt, and the exchange of commodities among Africans became very restricted.
To grasp more over the causes of poverty and the underdevelopment of the African economy, I try to analyse seven fundamental aspects which I think are very decisive indeed that have arrested economic and social developments in many African countries.
I. The absence of renaissance as a factor: first and foremost Africa was cut from the intellectual movements of Europe which has been going at least since the beginning of the 15th century. As I have tried to analyse above without studying the secret of the Greek civilization economic and social developments in Europe could not have been conceivable.
After the dark ages, the renaissance movement which was started in Italy could be expanded else where in other European countries and create favourable situations for wider intellectual discussions and social movements. While Greek knowledge moved towards Europe through different mechanisms and routs, Africa did not have the chance to participate in the intellectual discussions of Europe, though Africa was the source of the Greek civilization. As Greek philosophers have persistently taught us that the sources of knowledge and intellectual movement is to engage in scientific dialogs by upholding idea as the true source of knowledge.
II. Slave trade as a factor: slave trade which was started first of all by the Portuguese merchants and overtaken by Spain and other European countries had totally annihilated the social structures of many African countries. Estimations show that 30 to 90 million Africans were transported to oversee. While old men, women and children remained in their native countries, men with special knowledge who had developed wide range activities until the arrival of slave trade who were the basis of social and economic transformation were uprooted.
The negative consequence of this uprooting is the destruction of the social and the technological division of labour which many African countries had developed until the 15th century. Until today Africa could not be hilled from the wounds of this barbaric uprooting.
III. Colonialism as a factor: colonialism is the logical extension of slavery which had the power of undermining and extinction the remaining social and technological division of labour to hold down Africa permanently as the source of raw materials for capitalist accumulation in Europe.
As colonialism took firm positions in the African soil, Africans were compelled to abandon their long work practices and specializations, and were allocated in plantation activities which were designed for European markets. The colonial administration had the purpose to facilitate this mass exploitation and control the social movements of the African society.
IV. The post colonial structure as a factor: post colonial administration structures and the so called political independent had extended the old division of labour by means of new mechanisms which have deepened Africa's underdevelopment and poverty. After the Second World War, and after the new economic arrangements, dictated by the new emerging Imperial power, the United States of America, Africa was practically cut from participating in the world technological developments which is the basis of true social transformations.
In order to bind Africa into the new emerging international division of labour and trade, the African social transformation become a unique case which can be dealt by means of import-substitution-industrialization which is a part and parcel of the so-called modernization theory. The import-substitution-industrialization which is not based on machine-tool industries is entirely dependent for its reproduction on imported inputs, and as such it is vulnerable for internal and outside shocks.
It is not organically linked to the rest of the economic sectors; and has a very limited accumulation effect. The fact that it is detached from research and development, its capacity to expand and encompass the traditional economic sector, and transforms it to a dynamic economic sector is heavily restricted.
In the absence of development and research, and in the absence of machine-tool industries it is practically impossible to produce a coherent economic structure which could operate like a human body. Such an industry must inevitably push those economic forces in areas where the turnover of capital is very quick but the accumulation base and hence the multiplier effect is very limited.
This is the case in many African countries where import-substitution-industrialization has been taken as the only viable policy which could modernize the African economy. From this vantage point of view if we see the import-substitution-industrialization and the modernization policies, they are mechanisms of controlling the African economises not to take their natural paths. The consequence of such policies is as we see it today to destroy and to disturb the minds of the Africans by reducing them to the status of that of cattle.
Africans are not created to build well-designed cities; they cannot develop science and technology and must remain as animals without any social order and harmony which governs their handlings and gives them the capacity of creating new ideas. The school systems are special mechanisms which darkens the minds of the African elite not to see the world of science and technology and at the same time the world of aesthetic beyond once own lives.
V. The omnipotent state as a factor: the characteristic feature of the state in various African countries is that it lacks any theoretical and philosophical foundations by which it could organize the society around certain principles. In order that any society could exit as a society and reproduce itself economically and socially it needs certain philosophical frame works which serve as guidelines that bring the society together so that it could work in unison to build a dynamic and strong society.
From this point of view the state apparatus in all African countries which became independent in the 60s could not play as instrument of capitalist accumulation by creating favourable conditions for those dynamic forces from within. Since the state apparatus was moulded and structured by the colonial masters its mission was to distort internal accumulation and create conditions for the outflow of wealth to the capitalist centre. The indirect control of the African state structures by foreign forces and the incoherency of the state from within create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion among those forces that control the state apparatus.
Different foreign secret services that operate in various African countries to destabilize Africa use the various elements of the countries concerned to concentrate their work in information gathering rather than fulfil their constitutional duty for which they have sworn. Hence the bureaucratic apparatus must be strengthened to suppress democratic processes which are essential for the free flow of ideas and creative activity.
Foreign forces could fulfill their satanic mission only through the omnipotent state apparatus which they finance and advise. In this manner the state machines in all African countries serve as instrument of suppression rather than building a cultured economy which is based on science and technology.
On the other side if we see the role of the capitalist states starting the 16th century we witness that the state had progressive roles in creating conditions which favored internal accumulation. Without the intervention of the state capitalist accumulation and hence the development of science and technology could not have been developed as we see it today. After the Second World War all capitalist countries must continue to support internal accumulation by creating new devices, where as African governments are advised not to take any measure which could strengthen the economic base of their society.
The intervention of the state in the economy is seen as sin where as state intervention in all major capitalist countries become the exclusive rights of European governments. Such insane attitudes in many African countries have reduced the role of the state purely as instrument of suppression and internal economic distortion which canalizes wealth to the capitalist countries.
The political situation in Ethiopia is a vivid example why the civilized West sticks to the Meles regime, though the regime of Meles is engaged in mass killings and torture.
The country is turned to a play ground of Economic Hit Men which distort economic performance of the country by giving false advises. The acceptance of the regime the structural adjustment program (SAP) and its materialization, and its full fledged promises to introduce a market economy which is completely detached from science and technology, and the mafia type system which is spread within the circle of the state apparatus, and which is well financed by the World Bank and the IMF and certain Western governments is a clear example how Economic Hit Men are trying everything to hold Ethiopia down as a country which produces and reproduces poverty on a higher scale.
The expansion of flower plantation by Western firms and their engagements in those areas where they can make quick profits are examples why they are not ready to allow any democratic changes in Ethiopia. The EPRDF government is purely a puppet regime of imperialist forces which are waging direct war against the Ethiopian people so that they do not enjoy true freedom by developing science and technology.
It is therefore foolish to believe that the West will loose the control it has gained without gaining any guarantee from the opposition forces.
VI. The absence of intellectual discourse as a factor: we know that from the Greek philosophical discourse and dialectical method of conversation one could develop science if a society is engaged in intellectual discourse. Scientific discourses and hypothesis building are the basis of a science driven technological development.
The true understanding of the source of knowledge and the divergent ideas that had been developed by various schools of thought over the last 3000 years are the basis of any society if it could sustain as a society and make history in the true sense of the word. Any society must question itself what is the meaning of life in this world, from where it comes, what it is doing in this world, and where it is heading.
A society that does not pose such kinds of questions, its sustainability as a full functioning society will remain vague, and it does not understand in which direction it is marching. From this perspective the school systems in Africa lack any philosophical foundations. Colonial masters and their successors have deliberately formulated a school system which could arrest the minds of the students.
They have imposed a system which is not self reflective, and block any meaningful scientific discourse. A society which is not self-reflective, and can not questions the meanings of various policies it will be easily manipulated by outside forces. At the end such a society produces and reproduces gangster like politicians that sell their countries for foreign forces. This is what we see and witness in the present day Africa.
VII. Incoherent economic policy as a factor: the different policies followed after the modernization theories are nothing other than cementing the existing international division of labour and confusing the African society.
Whether the basic needs approach strategy, the Green Revolution or the Structural adjustment program that are mainly outlined by the World Bank and the IMF are seen as the real panacea for the African economic crises are nothing other than extending the old system of exploitation by adjusting the African economies to the changing international order which began in the beginning of the 70s and intensified in the 80s. Structural adjustment programs have the sole purpose of absorbing the African resources via debt mechanisms and intensify unequal trade where as Europe and America become richer and richer.
The known austerity program of the IMF, which is simply stated as unscientific by Prof. Sachs but could not be analysed further is another attempt of distorting the monetary mechanisms of the banking sector. According to the philosophy of the IMF, money must be drawn away from those unproductive social forces and allocated to those productive forces which behave like capitalists.
The true purpose of this policy is nothing other than strangulating the economy by cutting it from its monetary base and allocating the meagre resource to the export sector so that the African economies become more and more outward oriented.
As we see in the last 20 or more years by applying the bitter medicine of the IMF and the World Bank the African economies become more and more dependent on outside aid, and become strangulated so that Africa rotates within the vicious circles of debt mechanism, dependent on few exportable goods, which are becoming meaningless every year, and chaotic administration structures which become more and more suppressive and submissive to the outside forces.
Prof. Sachs criticizes here and there why politics and bad governance cannot explain the African underdevelopment and poverty. In this case he attacks both the rights and the lefts for their focusing exclusively on politics to explain the causes of the African poverty through the mirror of political discourse.
It is amazing how Prof. Sachs understands politics, though starting three thousand years the human social and economic development evolves around politics. The first Greek state men and philosophers had seen in politics the real mechanism in shaping social affairs. That is why they had studied in depth the meaning of metaphysics and its relation to politics.
Accordingly, only those who are guided by philosophical and rational principles have the capacity to give wise leadership and play historical roles in shaping a harmonious and developed society. On the other side those who lack these principles they rely solely on pure power and permanent war which ultimately destroy the society they govern.
Those who control state apparatus and hence shape politics have the ability to determine the movements of the different social forces within their boundaries. According to their social consciousness and understanding of the role of human beings political leaders either destroy the basis of the social reproduction capacities of their society or design them in such a way so that innovation, social reproduction and capital accumulation based on science and technology grow permanently.
Without politics and understanding the role of politics in shaping the social destiny of any given society, a society cannot exist as a social reproduction force where arts, city buildings, technological development and further innovation take place to sustain that particular society. Only politics, as the concentration of social process and an arena of ideological and economic struggle has the capacity in shaping the social well being of a given society or destroying it. In this case politics in many African counties cannot be the exception.
In order to understand the political roles of successive African governments and their leaders, one cannot see their handlings and their methodologies outside the scope of the colonial past, and the education system by which they are brought up, and the social formation in which they grew up. Though Africa had brilliant leaders, these leaders were chased and killed by Western intelligent services and their henchmen from within.
All the attempted murders and coup d` état were nothing but to prevent Africa from technological developments and science and to hold it down as permanent house of producing and reproducing poverty on a higher scale. All wars which have been taking in the last three or more decades on the African soil are wars orchestrated by the Western civilized states to destabilize Africa.
The economic policies of the IMF and the World Bank, and their applications by those Economic Hit Men as put by John Perkins in his well illuminating analysis demonstrates clearly how Africa and the rest of the Third World countries are being destroyed by those satanic forces who enjoy when they see that a part of humanity is permanently languishing under poverty and disease.
The globalization of the world economy which has been going since the last 15 years is worsening the economic and social situation of many African countries, and cannot be enlightened as Prof. Sachs makes us believe since by it self is the causes of permanent economic crises and destabilization. After all, how can such a system have the mission of enlightenment when its ideological tenet is neo-liberalism which is the antithesis of a science driven technological development.
After he has studied the causes of poverty through the mirror of his differential diagnosis Prof. Sachs came to the conclusion that poverty can be eliminated from the African soil if Western governments see it as their own problem and make efforts to help Africa.
The millennium 2015 is a part of this global attempt to reduce and eradicate poverty from the African soil. Only through the blessing attempts of donor countries is the hope and aspirations of millions of Africans lies. According to the belief of Prof. Sachs to think that Africa could come out of poverty by itself is not imaginable.
Though one cannot doubt the good intention of Prof. Sachs, to think that Western governments and their sophisticated institutions could solve the African economic crises is silly wise indeed, and at the same time an insult to the millions of Africans who become the victim of the global economic disorder instituted after the Second World War.
When Western capitalist countries are the problem of economic disequilibrium on the global scale and the causes of mass exodus by appropriating the African wealth how could they eradicate poverty from the African soil? Since
Prof. Sachs tries to analyze the economic crises of Africa from a false paradigm he must reach such kind of a conclusion which cannot be materialized. Even if part of it sees the light of the day this leads to more dependency and economic colonization. The policies which he had forwarded to Poland in the beginning of the 90s, to Bolivia to end hyperinflation and which it h
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the most prominent economists of the world, in his widely known book, the End of Poverty, published last year, gives us a lengthy assessment how he could deal with Third World's poverty, especially that of Africa.
Though I had read the book long ago, I did not have the opportunity to take my pen and give some critical remarks. Some of my countrymen have given their comments about the merits and the demerits of the book. I thought, however, that it is still worth to give certain critical remarks on my side, which were not raised and discussed by them.
Since I have been dealing with development economics for a long time which is a very erroneous and very misguiding field, I dear to say that I could have some illuminating idea that could open new avenue of development for our country which is the victim of poor understanding of human civilization, which has been practiced by Western educated technocrats, neo-colonial economic policy which has been practiced since the last five decades, and global economic order which is setup by Capitalist countries.
Due to his prominent position as a Professor in one of the best universities in the world, and a close adviser of the General Secretary of the United Nations, Mr. Koffi Annan, Prof. Sachs will have great influence on many governments of the Third World countries when he writes such a book.
The End of Poverty is a very lengthy analysis from a classical and neo-classical point of view which encompasses the most known facts, that poor people are poor because they are poor, and lack of saving vis-à-vis capital one of the causes of poverty, which are seen by most neo-liberal economists of our day who have great impacts in shaping our mode of thoughts and handlings.
In his approach of finding the real causes of poverty, Prof. Sachs uses as a methodology the differential diagnosis, which he has borrowed from medical science.
In his belief this is the only methodological approach to detect and study the real causes of the problem of poverty and give remedy once-for-all to eradicate underdevelopment. In order to come to a once-for-all panacea of alleviating poverty, he takes as an example the economic situations of Europe during the middle ages, and how Europe had overcome successfully poverty and dieses and developed science and technology which enables her to dominate the world.
For Europe to dominate the world technologically, Prof. Sachs sees that Europe has the ability or the opportunity which enable her to increase production and income and not because Europe or America have exploited the rest of the world.
For the great success of technological revolution in Europe, especially in Great Britain, Prof. Sachs is of the opinion that the openness of the English society and its favorable institutions are the main factors which enabled her to break itself from old norms which have arrested economic development for a long time. With no doubt the more open a society and its institutions are, people could emancipate themselves from old values and become the master of technology which is the basis of further development.
The openness of a given society depends on a variety of factors. Some individuals who see better than others that their society could not live any more by extolling old values and social orders which hamper technological innovation bring new ideas to illuminate the minds of the ruling classes or certain strata of the population. When certain groups who are enlightened enough are challenging old values and determined to introduce new norms and work methods which could serve as engine of social and economic development, the road to progress and social emancipation will be enhanced.
In this case the English society had the privilege to have very good institutions, not only in the late Middle Ages but also during the early feudal ages which helped it to introduce new social norms that could slowly eradicate old values and pave the way for creative activities based on individual freedom. More than that: to take technological lead the favorable atmosphere of the English society during the 16th century and later on had invited many leading handy craft specialists from Antwerp and Italy and other European countries which enabled Great Britain to diffuse all these ideas which came from other countries.
In addition to this the education system which was solely based on rhetoric, language and philosophy, which was normal during that time in some European countries, opened the minds of the English society which is the basis of intellectual development of various sorts. This combined with the above factors have enabled the English society to break up itself from darkness and march towards technological mastery. The renaissance of the 14th and the 15th century had also great impacts in raising the cognitive powers of not only the English society but also most European countries which was more expressed in city buildings.
Far trade through which many innovative ideas came and the unequal exchange trade which were later on understood as the main causes of further accumulation had strengthened the economic basis of not only the English society but also many European counties. As Great Britain understood that extended capital accumulation was only possible when other nations became the sources of raw materials and agricultural products, it developed different devises to undermine development efforts in other countries.
Hence the development of the theory of International trade accentuated by liberal ideas is seen as the main engine of economic development in all countries. Adam Smith, and later on David Ricardo had developed the theory of absolute and comparative advantages successively to cement the English supremacy in technological fields and block innovations in other countries. Especially, Adam Smith fought the idea of mercantilism which until the 17th century enabled many absolutist states in Europe to develop home market by supporting active balance payment policies and through encouraging manufacture activities without which the idea of Europe as we see it today could not be formed and control the world.
The education system could not only open the minds of the English society; the society became also the real breeding ground of empiricist idea which poisoned many intellectuals in Europe and was systematically fought by Leibniz and others who were emerged in the footsteps of Plato and Cusanus, who saw in it the danger of egoism and continuous war.
More than other European countries some English intellectuals, like Hobbes, Locke, and other empiricists had understood to develop their own version of understanding the human mind and how they could manipulate it so that it could become the victim of oligarchic rules. Accordingly, human beings act and direct their behaviors by bringing forth their built-in egoistic motives which is the deriving force of maximizing their wishes or needs. Hence human needs are unlimited. As Hobbes said individuals who are not guided by the motives of utility maximization behave like animals. On the other hand Leibniz believed that human beings are rational beings and could develop new ideas to shape their own fate.
In order that they could behave and handle rationally, and see themselves as part of a given society they must be taught not by empiricist idea but by real idea which can be investigated by means of dialectics. Starting the 17th century on wards we witness that there is an intense struggle between these schools of thoughts, namely those who uphold the idea of empiricism, first developed by the Greek Sophists, and by philosophers who believed that every human being is endowed by birth with idea, which is the source of true knowledge.
The clear understanding of the differences of these two schools of thought is the basis of any social and economic development. Without understanding these two divergent ideas, one cannot grasp the essence of economic underdevelopment in so many African countries, and the global economic order which is absorbing human and material resources to enrich few nations, and dislocating millions of people from their natural habitats by destroying their long history and culture.
The question why Europe could achieve industrial development and successfully dominate the world technologically cannot be understood in a manner as Adam Smith tries to teach us which Prof. Sachs quotes. The so-called invisible hand and the division of labour of Adam Smith are outcomes of long historical and social processes which are unique in the European social formations. One cannot depict the achievement of Europe in the field of science and technology without tracing Europe's history to that of the Greek and the Egyptian civilization.
In this case Europe is the child of the Egyptian and the Greek civilization without which the concept of Europe as we see it today could not have been successful. As historical investigations prove that the transmission of the Greek knowledge which is borrowed from Egypt and philosophically improved to alleviate the cognitive power of the European mind in order to let it the Master of Science and technology was brought by the Arabs and the Jews to the then backward and impoverished Europe.
Thanks to the great efforts of Arab philosophers that had interpreted the Greek literatures into Latin which became the foundations of European civilization. Various philosophers and Churchmen who came to the political scene after the 5th century A.D had intensively studied the secret of the Greek philosophy and fought in their capacity to change man's attitude towards nature and God. The appearance of critical minded Churchmen who were opposing the omnipotence of the catholic religion, which until the end of the middle ages had arrested the minds of the European people and made it the victim of disease and darkness, is very crucial indeed in changing the European society.
The revolt from within the church on one side, and the power struggle between the Monarchs and the Popes on the other hand at various times had given air to the development of different attitudes and began eroding the power structure of the clergy. City buildings starting the 13th century on wards and the concentration of people in certain areas and the rapid growth of hand craft activities and trade which culminated into the division of labour had by itself helped the emergence of new scientific ideas.
Hence the Copernican revolution which was followed by those scientists like Galileo Galilee and others had totally changed the minds of the European society. The 14th and the 15th century of renaissance which came to the scene by opposing darkness and poverty had illuminated the European mind and taught it that man is capable of changing his environment when he is scientifically guided. The reappearance of the Greek civilization was a new challenge to the then socially rigid European society which gave him new power to be ruled not any more by old norms and values which made him the victim of natural calamities but by reason and rational ideas.
The introduction of mathematical idea and the quantification of productive activities and registering them orderly give the European people the power of controlling nature. Nature is seen the source of everything which could be utilized in the proper way when the human mind nurtured with true knowledge. Hence man cannot be any more the victim of natural disorder but its master when he is equipped with true knowledge. Though we could witness that there were diverse ideas which were opposing diametrically in interpreting the development of idea, the reappearance of the Greek civilization is the clue of the success of European civilization.
Beginning the 16th century, the competition among the different European nations and the birth of the concept of the idea of nation-state gave the European people a unique dynamism which brought them together to live under one rule and law. Absolute states were determined to destroy everything which was barrier to nation-state building.
They broke the old feudal and local administration structures which were obstacles to social movements from one region to the other; paved the way for the free movement of capital and labour. They had destroyed all forms of internal regulations and taxes which were seen as the main hindrances for the emerging of home market. Only by effectively introducing new administration mechanisms which were supportive of market economic principles the development of the division of labour and it’s strengthening became fastened. Absolute Monarchies of the 16th and 17th centuries were aware of the need of constantly modifying their administration structures which they believed could improve technological development.
As the division of labour became the main engine of technological development, and the necessary of trade became as the main mechanism of fastening the valorization of capital, a new and dynamic class which was highly motivated and culturally advanced became to the political scene which began challenging the old orders. The intermarriage of different classes and the diffusion of ideas gave new dynamism which by itself paved the way to a coherent idea.
On the other side to read the economic development of Europe as a smooth process without social exploitation and peasant upheaval like Adam Smith had tried to teach us could not be compatible to the real social processes which had molded the European society, especially that of the English. More than other continents of the world, the economic exploitation of the masses in most European economies is well documented; and without the primitive accumulation of the masses which was extended to child labour, capital accumulation which helped economic development could not be understood.
The uniqueness of the European feudal social structure, which is well analyzed by the well known European historians, and which was not found in other social formations was a factor by itself for the disintegration of the system and pave the way for the capitalistic production system. The European serfdom which was known for its very exploitative nature was challenged by the peasant movements in most European countries, and the peasants gained bargaining power which improved their social status. The introduction of far trade activities and the accumulation of money capital in the hands of the merchants and the debt mechanism which had arrested the feudal and the aristocratic class had loosened the social fabrics of the feudal system in Europe.
The putting-out system which enabled the merchant class to dictate the hand craft activities of the rural population, and the improvement of technologies and hence production activities which enabled better productivity of consumption goods is a unique phenomena which could not be found in Africa or Asia. Adding to this, allocation of slave labour for road building and city construction, and the flow of ideas among the different European countries had by itself helped raise the cultural activities of the masses. Without well-designed cities and without market halls and places the exchange of goods and services were practically impossible. Without allocating mass labour which is unique in the European history we could not have seen such gigantic cities and cathedrals.
These and the above factors have great impacts in shaping the economic development of Europe and the development of the social division of labour which was highlighted by Adam Smith but not taken as prerequisite for the development of technological and social division of labour. The fact that technological innovations and economic development were seen beyond the scope of time and space are one of the characteristic features in Smith's illustrations of the division of labour.
We could witness from this brief analysis that the unique social formation in the European history, and the intellectual and the social movements which Europe had the privilege to raise itself above other nations, and the development of idea which is emanated from the human mind, and which was well understood by the European intellectuals of the 14th to the 17th century were the main driving factors for the introduction of a science driven technological development in the European society.
The intellectual movement which is unique to the European society and the diffusion of diverse ideas and the scientific arguments forwarded by the different scholars to enhance their views gave a unique impetus to technological development. This is being the case, in areas where feudal social orders were the rule of the system, and social movements were restricted, the introduction of new technology and the break up of feudal administration structures were necessary factors which paved the way for industrialization.
Through the mirror of technological developments in Europe during the last 200 years, Prof. Sachs tries to investigate the causes of poverty in many African countries by applying differential diagnosis as means of detecting economic underdevelopment. According to Prof. Sachs there are eight major factors which are the causes of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa. If one takes one by one and examines them most of the points are simply neo-liberal repetitions, and are effects and not the causes of poverty and real underdevelopment.
The mysterious thing is how poverty becomes the cause of economic stagnation is not clear; though economic stagnation or technological backwardness by itself could be one of the main causes of poverty. Again, if one applies the methodology of dialectical investigation, there are other factors which could be the causes of economic underdevelopment and poverty.
Demographic problems, physical geography and the special climatic conditions which are exceptions of many tropical countries could in some way or the other hamper social developments if they are not tackled systematically and scientifically, and as such could not be the main causes of underdevelopment.
If we look at the history of Europe, especially during the middle and late Middle Ages, most European countries were breeding grounds of mosquitoes. Only drying the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, and plastered the earth with special stones and building well designed cities and market places, mosquitoes could disappear from most European countries. In the 1950s the Chinese did the same thing while they turned down the advices of European governments to spread DDT, which they saw clearly that DDT could not eradicate Malaria.
In this case, special climatic conditions which favored such kinds of Insects, when treated scientifically will be controlled and their total disappearance is a matter of further scientific investigation. From this perspective if we examine the situations in many African counties in the last 50 years, simply spreading DDT could not eradicate mosquitoes.
We witness that mosquitoes have the ability to adapt themselves to DDT and could not be simply victimized by such measures. Since most African governments are indifferent to scientifically based social and economic development, and since they do not have any social responsibility they resort every time to old methods to tackle such kinds of Insects which hamper social progress. As Prof. Sachs and others are forwarding that mosquitoes could not be eradicated from the African soil by simply distributing bed nets.
In his analysis, Prof. Sachs tells us that through his new method of differential diagnosis he found the real causes of poverty and at the same time the instruments by which one could systematically eradicate poverty. Though he tells us here and there that he has gone through development theories, he has completely ignored all the theoretical debates of the 1950s to the 1980s which had great impacts in shaping development models in many Third World countries, and had failed for various reasons.
First of all the transformation of the European feudal society to capitalism, which were well studied and analysed by European and American economic historians are not of great concern for Prof. Sachs, though such kinds of discussions are parts of development economics and should not be rejected or neglected out rightly as if they did not take place. Secondly, the modernization theory which has focused on the problem of traditional societies and how one could overcome backwardness by means of growth poll which could be trickled down and overwhelms the entire society should had been discussed at length.
Thirdly, the answer to this modernization came especially from Third World Economists who have profound knowledge of European economic history. Andre Gunder Frank, Samir Amin, Arghiri Emmanuel, etc. to mention some, and the French structural school, mainly represented by Althuser and Balibar and other highly educated anthropologists with field work experiences, have influenced the development/underdevelopment debate. Prof. Sachs ignores these facts, though they are parts of the economic development theory and obligations to be visited by development theory students.
The above intellectuals have demonstrated well how Europe had exploited Africa, first of all through colonial trade by subjugating African peasants to specialize in certain agricultural products which are designed for European markets. By building infrastructures to promote export products, the European colonialists have systematically sabotaged the development of the home market in many African countries. Extracting activities had connections to the mother countries, and could not serve as the basis of further capital accumulation from within. In addition to this the banking activities which were centered in many colonial cities had the purpose of financing trade and not industries and technological development in various African countries.
These factors hampered economic development and disintegrated the African society. Even more, the colonial administrations had destructed the divisions of labour which had existed until the arrival of colonialists, and the labour force was allocated in selected areas which are vital for European capital accumulation. With this the creative activity of the Africans came to a halt, and the exchange of commodities among Africans became very restricted.
To grasp more over the causes of poverty and the underdevelopment of the African economy, I try to analyse seven fundamental aspects which I think are very decisive indeed that have arrested economic and social developments in many African countries.
I. The absence of renaissance as a factor: first and foremost Africa was cut from the intellectual movements of Europe which has been going at least since the beginning of the 15th century.
As I have tried to analyse above without studying the secret of the Greek civilization economic and social developments in Europe could not have been conceivable. After the dark ages, the renaissance movement which was started in Italy could be expanded else where in other European countries and create favourable situations for wider intellectual discussions and social movements.
While Greek knowledge moved towards Europe through different mechanisms and routs, Africa did not have the chance to participate in the intellectual discussions of Europe, though Africa was the source of the Greek civilization. As Greek philosophers have persistently taught us that the sources of knowledge and intellectual movement is to engage in scientific dialogs by upholding idea as the true source of knowledge.
II. Slave trade as a factor: slave trade which was started first of all by the Portuguese merchants and overtaken by Spain and other European countries had totally annihilated the social structures of many African countries. Estimations show that 30 to 90 million Africans were transported to oversee.
While old men, women and children remained in their native countries, men with special knowledge who had developed wide range activities until the arrival of slave trade who were the basis of social and economic transformation were uprooted. The negative consequence of this uprooting is the destruction of the social and the technological division of labour which many African countries had developed until the 15th century. Until today Africa could not be hilled from the wounds of this barbaric uprooting.
III. Colonialism as a factor: colonialism is the logical extension of slavery which had the power of undermining and extinction the remaining social and technological division of labour to hold down Africa permanently as the source of raw materials for capitalist accumulation in Europe. As colonialism took firm positions in the African soil, Africans were compelled to abandon their long work practices and specializations, and were allocated in plantation activities which were designed for European markets. The colonial administration had the purpose to facilitate this mass exploitation and control the social movements of the African society.
IV. The post colonial structure as a factor: post colonial administration structures and the so called political independent had extended the old division of labour by means of new mechanisms which have deepened Africa's underdevelopment and poverty. After the Second World War, and after the new economic arrangements, dictated by the new emerging Imperial power, the United States of America, Africa was practically cut from participating in the world technological developments which is the basis of true social transformations. In order to bind Africa into the new emerging international division of labour and trade, the African social transformation become a unique case which can be dealt by means of import-substitution-industrialization which is a part and parcel of the so-called modernization theory.
The import-substitution-industrialization which is not based on machine-tool industries is entirely dependent for its reproduction on imported inputs, and as such it is vulnerable for internal and outside shocks. It is not organically linked to the rest of the economic sectors; and has a very limited accumulation effect.
The fact that it is detached from research and development, its capacity to expand and encompass the traditional economic sector, and transforms it to a dynamic economic sector is heavily restricted. In the absence of development and research, and in the absence of machine-tool industries it is practically impossible to produce a coherent economic structure which could operate like a human body. Such an industry must inevitably push those economic forces in areas where the turnover of capital is very quick but the accumulation base and hence the multiplier effect is very limited.
This is the case in many African countries where import-substitution-industrialization has been taken as the only viable policy which could modernize the African economy. From this vantage point of view if we see the import-substitution-industrialization and the modernization policies, they are mechanisms of controlling the African economises not to take their natural paths.
The consequence of such policies is as we see it today to destroy and to disturb the minds of the Africans by reducing them to the status of that of cattle. Africans are not created to build well-designed cities; they cannot develop science and technology and must remain as animals without any social order and harmony which governs their handlings and gives them the capacity of creating new ideas. The school systems are special mechanisms which darkens the minds of the African elite not to see the world of science and technology and at the same time the world of aesthetic beyond once own lives.
V. The omnipotent state as a factor: the characteristic feature of the state in various African countries is that it lacks any theoretical and philosophical foundations by which it could organize the society around certain principles. In order that any society could exit as a society and reproduce itself economically and socially it needs certain philosophical frame works which serve as guidelines that bring the society together so that it could work in unison to build a dynamic and strong society.
From this point of view the state apparatus in all African countries which became independent in the 60s could not play as instrument of capitalist accumulation by creating favourable conditions for those dynamic forces from within. Since the state apparatus was moulded and structured by the colonial masters its mission was to distort internal accumulation and create conditions for the outflow of wealth to the capitalist centre.
The indirect control of the African state structures by foreign forces and the incoherency of the state from within create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion among those forces that control the state apparatus. Different foreign secret services that operate in various African countries to destabilize Africa use the various elements of the countries concerned to concentrate their work in information gathering rather than fulfil their constitutional duty for which they have sworn. Hence the bureaucratic apparatus must be strengthened to suppress democratic processes which are essential for the free flow of ideas and creative activity.
Foreign forces could fulfill their satanic mission only through the omnipotent state apparatus which they finance and advise. In this manner the state machines in all African countries serve as instrument of suppression rather than building a cultured economy which is based on science and technology.
On the other side if we see the role of the capitalist states starting the 16th century we witness that the state had progressive roles in creating conditions which favored internal accumulation. Without the intervention of the state capitalist accumulation and hence the development of science and technology could not have been developed as we see it today. After the Second World War all capitalist countries must continue to support internal accumulation by creating new devices, where as African governments are advised not to take any measure which could strengthen the economic base of their society.
The intervention of the state in the economy is seen as sin where as state intervention in all major capitalist countries become the exclusive rights of European governments. Such insane attitudes in many African countries have reduced the role of the state purely as instrument of suppression and internal economic distortion which canalizes wealth to the capitalist countries.
The political situation in Ethiopia is a vivid example why the civilized West sticks to the Meles regime, though the regime of Meles is engaged in mass killings and torture.
The country is turned to a play ground of Economic Hit Men which distort economic performance of the country by giving false advises. The acceptance of the regime the structural adjustment program (SAP) and its materialization, and its full fledged promises to introduce a market economy which is completely detached from science and technology, and the mafia type system which is spread within the circle of the state apparatus, and which is well financed by the World Bank and the IMF and certain Western governments is a clear example how Economic Hit Men are trying everything to hold Ethiopia down as a country which produces and reproduces poverty on a higher scale.
The expansion of flower plantation by Western firms and their engagements in those areas where they can make quick profits are examples why they are not ready to allow any democratic changes in Ethiopia. The EPRDF government is purely a puppet regime of imperialist forces which are waging direct war against the Ethiopian people so that they do not enjoy true freedom by developing science and technology.
It is therefore foolish to believe that the West will loose the control it has gained without gaining any guarantee from the opposition forces.
VI. The absence of intellectual discourse as a factor: we know that from the Greek philosophical discourse and dialectical method of conversation one could develop science if a society is engaged in intellectual discourse. Scientific discourses and hypothesis building are the basis of a science driven technological development.
The true understanding of the source of knowledge and the divergent ideas that had been developed by various schools of thought over the last 3000 years are the basis of any society if it could sustain as a society and make history in the true sense of the word.
Any society must question itself what is the meaning of life in this world, from where it comes, what it is doing in this world, and where it is heading. A society that does not pose such kinds of questions, its sustainability as a full functioning society will remain vague, and it does not understand in which direction it is marching. From this perspective the school systems in Africa lack any philosophical foundations. Colonial masters and their successors have deliberately formulated a school system which could arrest the minds of the students.
They have imposed a system which is not self reflective, and block any meaningful scientific discourse. A society which is not self-reflective, and can not questions the meanings of various policies it will be easily manipulated by outside forces. At the end such a society produces and reproduces gangster like politicians that sell their countries for foreign forces. This is what we see and witness in the present day Africa.
VII. Incoherent economic policy as a factor: the different policies followed after the modernization theories are nothing other than cementing the existing international division of labour and confusing the African society.
Whether the basic needs approach strategy, the Green Revolution or the Structural adjustment program that are mainly outlined by the World Bank and the IMF are seen as the real panacea for the African economic crises are nothing other than extending the old system of exploitation by adjusting the African economies to the changing international order which began in the beginning of the 70s and intensified in the 80s. Structural adjustment programs have the sole purpose of absorbing the African resources via debt mechanisms and intensify unequal trade where as Europe and America become richer and richer.
The known austerity program of the IMF, which is simply stated as unscientific by Prof. Sachs but could not be analysed further is another attempt of distorting the monetary mechanisms of the banking sector. According to the philosophy of the IMF, money must be drawn away from those unproductive social forces and allocated to those productive forces which behave like capitalists. The true purpose of this policy is nothing other than strangulating the economy by cutting it from its monetary base and allocating the meagre resource to the export sector so that the African economies become more and more outward oriented.
As we see in the last 20 or more years by applying the bitter medicine of the IMF and the World Bank the African economies become more and more dependent on outside aid, and become strangulated so that Africa rotates within the vicious circles of debt mechanism, dependent on few exportable goods, which are becoming meaningless every year, and chaotic administration structures which become more and more suppressive and submissive to the outside forces.
Prof. Sachs criticizes here and there why politics and bad governance cannot explain the African underdevelopment and poverty. In this case he attacks both the rights and the lefts for their focusing exclusively on politics to explain the causes of the African poverty through the mirror of political discourse.
It is amazing how Prof. Sachs understands politics, though starting three thousand years the human social and economic development evolves around politics. The first Greek state men and philosophers had seen in politics the real mechanism in shaping social affairs. That is why they had studied in depth the meaning of metaphysics and its relation to politics. Accordingly, only those who are guided by philosophical and rational principles have the capacity to give wise leadership and play historical roles in shaping a harmonious and developed society.
On the other side those who lack these principles they rely solely on pure power and permanent war which ultimately destroy the society they govern. Those who control state apparatus and hence shape politics have the ability to determine the movements of the different social forces within their boundaries. According to their social consciousness and understanding of the role of human beings political leaders either destroy the basis of the social reproduction capacities of their society or design them in such a way so that innovation, social reproduction and capital accumulation based on science and technology grow permanently.
Without politics and understanding the role of politics in shaping the social destiny of any given society, a society cannot exist as a social reproduction force where arts, city buildings, technological development and further innovation take place to sustain that particular society. Only politics, as the concentration of social process and an arena of ideological and economic struggle has the capacity in shaping the social well being of a given society or destroying it. In this case politics in many African counties cannot be the exception.
In order to understand the political roles of successive African governments and their leaders, one cannot see their handlings and their methodologies outside the scope of the colonial past, and the education system by which they are brought up, and the social formation in which they grew up. Though Africa had brilliant leaders, these leaders were chased and killed by Western intelligent services and their henchmen from within. All the attempted murders and coup d` état were nothing but to prevent Africa from technological developments and science and to hold it down as permanent house of producing and reproducing poverty on a higher scale.
All wars which have been taking in the last three or more decades on the African soil are wars orchestrated by the Western civilized states to destabilize Africa. The economic policies of the IMF and the World Bank, and their applications by those Economic Hit Men as put by John Perkins in his well illuminating analysis demonstrates clearly how Africa and the rest of the Third World countries are being destroyed by those satanic forces who enjoy when they see that a part of humanity is permanently languishing under poverty and disease.
The globalization of the world economy which has been going since the last 15 years is worsening the economic and social situation of many African countries, and cannot be enlightened as Prof. Sachs makes us believe since by it self is the causes of permanent economic crises and destabilization. After all, how can such a system have the mission of enlightenment when its ideological tenet is neo-liberalism which is the antithesis of a science driven technological development.
After he has studied the causes of poverty through the mirror of his differential diagnosis Prof. Sachs came to the conclusion that poverty can be eliminated from the African soil if Western governments see it as their own problem and make efforts to help Africa. The millennium 2015 is a part of this global attempt to reduce and eradicate poverty from the African soil. Only through the blessing attempts of donor countries is the hope and aspirations of millions of Africans lies. According to the belief of Prof. Sachs to think that Africa could come out of poverty by itself is not imaginable.
Though one cannot doubt the good intention of Prof. Sachs, to think that Western governments and their sophisticated institutions could solve the African economic crises is silly wise indeed, and at the same time an insult to the millions of Africans who become the victim of the global economic disorder instituted after the Second World War.
When Western capitalist countries are the problem of economic disequilibrium on the global scale and the causes of mass exodus by appropriating the African wealth how could they eradicate poverty from the African soil? Since Prof. Sachs tries to analyze the economic crises of Africa from a false paradigm he must reach such kind of a conclusion which cannot be materialized. Even if part of it sees the light of the day this leads to more dependency and economic colonization.
The policies which he had forwarded to Poland in the beginning of the 90s, to Bolivia to end hyperinflation and which it has failed, and the privatization policy he had worked out for Russia are clear examples that his approaches are more conceptualized from a neo-liberal point of view which cannot solve the problem of economic crises once-for-all but postpone it and deepening the economic crises of those countries. Likewise his methodology and solution to end poverty from the African soil is another attempt to prolong the African misery, and thereby pave the way for the decolonization of Africa.
In order to end poverty from the African soil we must see the problem through the mirror of physical economic principles which is the only viable scientific instrument that brings real economic development in many African countries.
Since almost all African countries have never attempted to dissociate themselves from the destructive policies of the IMF and the World Bank, only the destruction of the ideological basis of this policy will have the power of redeeming the African people and use their natural creative power to develop a harmonious and well functioning society.
The eradication of poverty is possible when African governments are guided by this principle, and see poverty as a part of an over whole economic and social underdevelopment.
To see the problem of poverty outside the scope of technological, cultural, social and a generalized economic development is an erroneous thing which must be rejected from the outset.
Fekadu Bekele, PhD
March 20, 2006
Fekadu Bekele can be reached at bosenanegussie@alice-dsl.de
Asrat Tilahun
Public Relation Associate
UNDP Ethiopia
Tel. 251-11-544-4275; 251-11-551-5177; 251-91-120-2726
Fax.251-11-551-4599,551-5147
E-mail:asrat.tilahun@undp.org
Addis Ababa,Ethiopia
as failed, and the privatization policy he had worked out for Russia are clear examples that his approaches are more conceptualized from a neo-liberal point of view which cannot solve the problem of economic crises once-for-all but postpone it and deepening the economic crises of those countries. Likewise his methodology and solution to end poverty from the African soil is another attempt to prolong the African misery, and thereby pave the way for the decolonization of Africa.
In order to end poverty from the African soil we must see the problem through the mirror of physical economic principles which is the only viable scientific instrument that brings real economic development in many African countries. Since almost all African countries have never attempted to dissociate themselves from the destructive policies of the IMF and the World Bank, only the destruction of the ideological basis of this policy will have the power of redeeming the African people and use their natural creative power to develop a harmonious and well functioning society. The eradication of poverty is possible when African governments are guided by this principle, and see poverty as a part of an over whole economic and social underdevelopment. To see the problem of poverty outside the scope of technological, cultural, social and a generalized economic development is an erroneous thing which must be rejected from the outset.
Fekadu Bekele, PhD
March 20, 2006
Fekadu Bekele can be reached at bosenanegussie@alice-dsl.de
Asrat Tilahun
Public Relation Associate
UNDP Ethiopia
Tel. 251-11-544-4275; 251-11-551-5177; 251-91-120-2726
Fax.251-11-551-4599,551-5147
E-mail:asrat.tilahun@undp.org
Addis Ababa,Ethiopia
