RP Live presents: Africa’s Quest for Economic Liberation with Ndongo Samba Sylla
Sep 23, 2023
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Ndongo Samba Sylla, expert on challenges facing Africa and the story of Thomas Sankara, discusses Africa's economic liberation, combining MMT with Sankara's plans. Topics include the role of BRICS, economic exploitation as imperialism, and the urgency for radical action. The podcast explores migration patterns, local materials for sustainable classroom construction, and the agenda for Africa's economic liberation. It also delves into monetary reparations, challenges and opportunities for African countries, and developing progressive policies.
Africa's economic liberation relies on unity, resource harnessing, and rejection of the status quo.
Thomas Sankara's vision encompassed monetary sovereignty, ecological sustainability, and human dignity.
Global South thinkers Celso Furtado and Samir Amin support alternative development paths for Africa.
China's involvement in Africa complicates the quest for economic liberation due to debt challenges and raw material export focus.
Understanding Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) could have empowered Thomas Sankara to challenge the CFA franc and propose alternative solutions.
Deep dives
Overcoming Economic Oppression: Africa's Quest for Liberation
African liberation from legacies of racism, colonialism, and imperialism relies on Africans uniting, harnessing their resources, and rejecting the status quo. The contrasting response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa exemplifies the difference between socialism and capitalism, where Cuba sent doctors while the US sent military troops. In the context of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King's rejection of gradualism and incrementalism resonates. The goal is to avoid the apocalyptic future, embracing sustainability instead. This episode of Macro and Cheese discusses Africa's quest for economic liberation and draws inspiration from Thomas Sankara, who advocated for monetary sovereignty, ecological sustainability, and human dignity.
Overcoming Economic Oppression: Africa's Quest for Liberation
During his tenure, he transformed a poor and landlocked country, prioritizing ecological sustainability and women's rights. Sankara called for the repudiation of Africa's external debt, arguing its illegitimacy due to colonial origins. Unfortunately, his assassination in 1987 prevented the full realization of his vision. Nevertheless, Sankara's economic liberation project remains relevant as it encompasses monetary sovereignty, ecological sustainability, human dignity, self-esteem, and international solidarity.
Overcoming Economic Oppression: Africa's Quest for Liberation
The role of Celso Furtado and Samir Amin, two influential intellectuals from the global South, supports Sankara's economic liberation agenda. Furtado's book "The Myth of Economic Development" highlighted the ecological unsustainability of the Western development path and the impossibility of economic catch-up for the global South. Amin expanded on this, emphasizing the need for a different development trajectory to avoid the dispossession of peasants and the creation of a surplus labor force. These perspectives reinforce the need for Africa to seek its own path to sustainable prosperity, reducing external dependency and embracing a local resource-driven approach.
Overcoming Economic Oppression: Africa's Quest for Liberation
China's involvement in Africa plays a significant role in diversifying economic relationships and providing infrastructure support. However, despite these positive aspects, Africa's economic specialization still revolves around exporting raw materials, reflecting patterns seen in relationships with Western countries. China's focus on raw materials and the debt challenges associated with African countries further complicate the quest for economic liberation. The cancellation or restructuring of debts often faces challenges due to both China and Western creditors' diverging interests. The path to true economic liberation requires progressive relationships that focus on technology transfer, industrialization, and the eradication of capitalist dynamics.
Creating a Path to Sustainable Prosperity: Towards Economic Liberation in Africa
Africa's economic liberation necessitates breaking free from legacies of racism, colonialism, and imperialism through unified efforts, harnessing local resources, and rejecting the current paradigm. The Ebola crisis in West Africa highlighted the contrasting responses of socialist Cuba, which sent doctors, and capitalist US, which sent troops. Thomas Sankara's ideas resonate as he rejected gradualism and incrementalism, emphasizing the importance of truth and avoiding an apocalyptic future. This episode explores Africa's quest for economic liberation, notably drawing inspiration from Sankara's agenda centered on monetary sovereignty, ecological sustainability, and human dignity.
Creating a Path to Sustainable Prosperity: Towards Economic Liberation in Africa
Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso, advocated for African development and economic liberation. During his tenure, he prioritized ecological sustainability, women's rights, and the repudiation of Africa's external debt, arguing for its illegitimacy due to colonial origins. Sankara's economic liberation project encompassed monetary sovereignty, ecological sustainability, human dignity, self-esteem, and international solidarity, aspects that remain crucial today. His vision exemplifies the need for Africa to break free from external control and embrace its material and cultural resources for sustainable prosperity.
Creating a Path to Sustainable Prosperity: Towards Economic Liberation in Africa
Global South thinkers Celso Furtado and Samir Amin support Sankara's economic liberation agenda. Furtado's book "The Myth of Economic Development" challenges the assumption that global South countries could replicate the Western development path. Amin emphasizes that economic catch-up for the global South is impossible due to ecological imperialism and the absence of new Americas for mass migration. These views reinforce the need for alternative development paths that prioritize domestic resource mobilization, self-determination, and reduced dependence on the West. Africa must assert its own path to sustainable prosperity.
Creating a Path to Sustainable Prosperity: Towards Economic Liberation in Africa
China's participation in Africa offers possibilities for diversifying economic relationships and infrastructure development. However, Africa's economic specialization remains focused on exporting raw materials, mirroring relationships with Western countries. China's focus on raw materials and debt challenges complicate Africa's pursuit of economic liberation. While China's involvement provides opportunities, true economic liberation requires progressive relationships that prioritize technology transfer, industrialization, and the eradication of capitalist dynamics. Africa must seek self-reliance and sustainable prosperity through diversified partnerships and resource mobilization.
Lack of MMT Perspective in Sankara's Resource Mobilization
The podcast discusses how Thomas Sankara, the former head of state of Burkina Faso, was ahead of his time and had a view on resource mobilization. However, he lacked the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) perspective. If he had understood MMT, he could have challenged the CFA franc currency arrangement and proposed alternative solutions to his neighboring countries. The podcast highlights the importance of developing a discourse around monetary sovereignty for progressive people to understand.
Impact of Global North Agricultural Policies on African Nations
The podcast explores how African nations have been affected by global North agricultural policies and practices. These policies, dating back to colonial times, have led to the dominance of monoculture crops and the liberalization of agricultural sectors. The IMF and World Bank's influence in the 1980s further exacerbated the situation, undermining the agricultural sector's viability and contributing to an economic decline. The podcast mentions the use of genetically modified seeds, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and the negative effects of European agricultural subsidies. However, it also acknowledges grassroots movements in Africa that are resisting these practices and fighting for biodiversity and food sovereignty.
“The impossibility of economic catch-up does not imply that the citizens of the global South are condemned to suffer from poverty and inequality. It only implies that capitalism has nothing to offer as a prospect of a decent life for the vast majority of humanity...”
In this webinar from our popular RP Live series, Ndongo Samba Sylla tells us of the challenges facing Africa through the story of Thomas Sankara and breaks down what Sankara meant when he told the people to "live as African.” Ndongo suggests that the way forward combines the insights provided by MMT with Sankara’s plans for African liberation and development. He calls it MMT-ing Sankara or Sankara-ing MMT. Since some see MMT as apolitical, Ndongo is making a crucial point. He also goes into detail as to why cancelling international debt, though necessary, is not enough.
After his presentation, Ndongo takes questions from attendees on the role of BRICS and potential benefits for Africa in a multi-polar world. He touches on the CFA franc and explains why economic exploitation is the most vicious form of imperialism.
Ndongo Samba Sylla is a Senegalese development economist. He has previously worked as a technical advisor at the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal and was Programme Manager at the West Africa office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. He has recently been appointed the Africa Director for Research and Policy at IDEAs (International Development Economics Associates)
He is the co-author of Africa’s Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story and author of The Fair Trade Scandal. Both books can be ordered through the RP Bookshop on our website: realprogressives.org
@nssylla on Twitter
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