Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) called ‘The Economist’ a ‘journal that speaks for the British millionaires.’ It proves his point with this headline, which pins Africa’s woes on ‘paternalism, complacency and corruption,’ prescribing the disease, capitalism, as the cure.
That’s why we edited the magazine’s X caption and the headline on its latest issue.
The legacy of slavery and colonialism continues to decimate African societies. At the same time, colonial powers have never paid reparations and installed neo-colonial systems, which burden us with corrupt leaders and facilitate economies serving the interest of imperialists, not Africans. Colonial-era boundaries also alienated Africans, barring people-to-people exchanges and trade. Financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, line their pockets as they impoverish Africans. Central and southern Africa hold 65 per cent of the continent’s arable land, but 70 per cent of the world’s hungriest people are in just three countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, as of the end of 2022 according to Concern Worldwide US. That figure doesn’t count as more than half of Sudan’s 49 million people face acute hunger due to the proxy war that kicked off in 2023.
Corrupt Western-aligned African leaders stash stolen public loot in London and overseas territories like the Cayman Islands, funds that could have been used to develop industry, healthcare and agriculture back home.
Meanwhile, the West has blocked the attempts of principled African leaders with a development agenda through assassinations, coups and sanctions.
You’re welcome, The Economist.
Sources
Economist headline
https://x.com/TheEconomist/status/1877324381577199722
Vladimir Lenin
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1915/may/01c.htm
Consequences of imperialism
https://essaygpt.hix.ai/essay/effects-of-new-imperialism-in-africa-3d68a7
Bretton Woods destruction of Africa
https://jacobin.com/2024/03/imf-kenya-austerity-debt-william-ruto
Africa arable land
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919214000761
70% of hungriest people in 3 African countries
https://concernusa.org/news/hunger-in-africa-explained/
How Britain helps corrupt African leaders stash stolen billions