5 - Exploring Thought Leadership, Thought Liberation and Critical Consciousness for Africa’s Development
Corresponding Author(s) : Vusi Gumede
Africa Development,
Vol. 40 No. 4 (2015): Africa Development
Abstract
It is argued that any discussion of Africa’s social and economic development has to take into account the three critical issues that remain pressing constraints for the further advancement of well-being in Africa: thought leadership, thought liberation and critical consciousness. These three ‘ingredients’ should anchor aspects of the socio-economic development model. As I have discussed elsewhere, the twenty-first century will most likely be remembered as the Asian century fundamentally, and secondarily as a South American century. Africa will most likely miss the twenty-first century as its own and should be putting in place what is needed to ensure that Africa indeed captures the twenty-second century.
It is in this context that this article argues that thought leadership, thought liberation and critical consciousness should ensure that Africa robustly addresses whatever constraints that limit Africa’s progress. The three ‘instruments’ – the trio – should be pursued concurrently, for thought leadership without critical consciousness is useless. Thought leadership without a liberated mind is futile. Higher levels of consciousness, based on comprehensive understanding of phenomena, make for a better thought leader. It is also argued that African thought leadership must be able to produce not only a critical but also a conscious African citizenry that is grounded in pan-Africanist philosophies and driven to implement the African renaissance agenda. To do this and to successfully pursue other pertinent issues, Africa should build on its glorious past. The article also demonstrates the importance of knowledge production, its dissemination, organization and the implementation of revolutionary praxis.
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- Adedeji, A., 2002, From the Lagos Plan of Action to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and from the Final Act of Lagos to the Constitutive Act: Wither Africa? Keynote address to the African Forum for Envisioning Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 26–29 April.
- Ake, C., 1981, A Political Economy of Africa, London: Longman.
- Ake, C., 1996, Democracy and Development in Africa, Maryland: Brookings Institution.
- Amin, S., 1972, ‘Underdevelopment and dependence in black Africa: historical origin’, Journal of Peace Research 9 (2): 105–20.
- Amin, S., 1997, Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation: The Management of Contemporary Society, Cape Town: Zeb Books.
- Asante, M.K., 2000, The Egyptian Philosophers: Ancient African Voices from Imhotep to Akhenaten, Illinois: African-American Images.
- Asante, M., 2007, An Afrocentric Manifesto: Toward an African Renaissance, Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Ayittey, G., 2005, Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Biko, S., 1978, I Write What I Like: Selected Writings, Sandton: Heinemann Publishers.
- Cleaveland, T., 2008, ‘Timbuktu and Walata: Lineages and Higher Education’, in Jeppie, S. and Diagne, S.B., eds, The Meanings of Timbuktu, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Davidson, B., 1992, The Black Man’s Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State, Oxford: James Currey.
- Diagne, S.B., 2008, Towards an Intellectual History of West Africa: The Meaning of Timbuktu, in Jeppie, S. and Diagne, S.B., eds, The Meanings of Timbuktu, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Diop, A., 1955, The African Origin of Civilisation: Myth or Reality, Paris: Presence Africaine.
- Edigheji, O., 2004, ‘The African state and socio-economic development: an institutional perspective’, African Journal of Political Science 9 (1): 84–103.
- Falola, T., 2004, Nationalism and African Intellectuals, New York: University of Rochester Press.
- Fanon, F., 1961, The Wretched of the Earth, New York: Grove Press.
- Fine, B., 2009, ‘Development as zombie economics in the age of neo-liberalism’, Third World Quarterly 30 (5): 885–904.
- Freire, P., 1970, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Continuum.
- Grosfoguel, R., 2007, ‘The epistemic decolonial turn: beyond political economy paradigms’, Cultural Studies 21: 211–13.
- Keita, L., 2014, ‘On the problematic state of economic “science”, Africa Development XXXIX (1): 93–124.
- Gumede, V. 2013, African Economic Renaissance as a Paradigm for Africa’s Socio-Economic Development’, in Kondlo, K., ed., Perspectives in Thought Leadership for Africa’s Renewal, Pretoria: AISA Press.
- Gumede, V., 2015, ‘Editorial’, Africa Development XL (3): 1–12.
- Gumede, V., and Pooe, T.K., 2014, ‘Foreign Direct Investment and Intra-Africa Trade: The Role of African Governments in the Context of African Renaissance’, in Muchie, M., Gumede, V., Lukhele-Olorunju, P. and Demissie, H., eds, Unite or Perish: Africa Fifty Years After the Founding of the OAU, Pretoria: AISA Press.
- Jerven, M., 2010, African Growth Recurring: An Economic History Perspective on African Growth Episodes: 1690–2010, Simons Papers in Security and Development No. 4, June.
- Martin, G., 2012, African Political Thought, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Mazrui, A., 2005, ‘Pan-Africanism and the Intellectuals: Rise, Decline and Revival’, in Mkandawire, T., ed., African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Mbeki, T., 2014, The task of the African progressive movement’, The Thinker: Pan-African Quarterly for Thought Leaders, Quarter 1, 59: 12–20.
- Mkandawire, T., 2011, ‘Running while others walked: knowledge and the challenge of Africa’s development’, Africa Development XXXVI (2): 1–36.
- Mkandawire, T., 2015, ‘Neopatrimonialism and the political economy of economic performance in Africa: critical reflections’, World Politics, May, 1–50.
- Mpofu, W., 2013, ‘Coloniality in the scramble for African knowledge: a decolonial political perspective’, Africanus: Journal of Development Studies 43 (2): 105–17.
- Mudimbe, V.Y., 1994, The Idea of Africa, Oxford: James Currey.
- Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S., 2013, Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonization, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Polanyi, K., 1944, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origin of Our Time, Boston: Beacon Press.
- Ribeiro, G., 2011, ‘Why (post)colonialism and (de)coloniality are not enough: a post-imperialist perspective, Postcolonial Studies 14 (3): 285–97.
- Robinson, W., 2004, A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class and State in a Transnational World, Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Rodney, W., 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Dar es Salaam: Ujuzi Books.
- Sen, A., 1999, Development as Freedom, New York: Anchor.
- Sesanti, S., 2015, ‘Teaching African philosophy in African institutions of higher learning: the implications for African renaissance’, South African Journal of Philosophy 34 (3): 346–57.
- Shivji, I., 2009, Accumulation in an African Periphery: A Theoretical Framework, Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers.
- Stiglitz, J. Lin, J. Monga, C. and Patel, E., 2013, Industrial Policy in the African Context, Washington, DC: World Bank.
- Strange, S., 1994, States and the Markets, London: Bloomsbury.
- Tandon, Y., 2015, ‘Development is resistance’, Africa Development XL (3): 139–59.
- wa Thiong’o, N., 1986, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, Oxford: James Currey
References
Adedeji, A., 2002, From the Lagos Plan of Action to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and from the Final Act of Lagos to the Constitutive Act: Wither Africa? Keynote address to the African Forum for Envisioning Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 26–29 April.
Ake, C., 1981, A Political Economy of Africa, London: Longman.
Ake, C., 1996, Democracy and Development in Africa, Maryland: Brookings Institution.
Amin, S., 1972, ‘Underdevelopment and dependence in black Africa: historical origin’, Journal of Peace Research 9 (2): 105–20.
Amin, S., 1997, Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation: The Management of Contemporary Society, Cape Town: Zeb Books.
Asante, M.K., 2000, The Egyptian Philosophers: Ancient African Voices from Imhotep to Akhenaten, Illinois: African-American Images.
Asante, M., 2007, An Afrocentric Manifesto: Toward an African Renaissance, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Ayittey, G., 2005, Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Biko, S., 1978, I Write What I Like: Selected Writings, Sandton: Heinemann Publishers.
Cleaveland, T., 2008, ‘Timbuktu and Walata: Lineages and Higher Education’, in Jeppie, S. and Diagne, S.B., eds, The Meanings of Timbuktu, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Davidson, B., 1992, The Black Man’s Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State, Oxford: James Currey.
Diagne, S.B., 2008, Towards an Intellectual History of West Africa: The Meaning of Timbuktu, in Jeppie, S. and Diagne, S.B., eds, The Meanings of Timbuktu, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Diop, A., 1955, The African Origin of Civilisation: Myth or Reality, Paris: Presence Africaine.
Edigheji, O., 2004, ‘The African state and socio-economic development: an institutional perspective’, African Journal of Political Science 9 (1): 84–103.
Falola, T., 2004, Nationalism and African Intellectuals, New York: University of Rochester Press.
Fanon, F., 1961, The Wretched of the Earth, New York: Grove Press.
Fine, B., 2009, ‘Development as zombie economics in the age of neo-liberalism’, Third World Quarterly 30 (5): 885–904.
Freire, P., 1970, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Continuum.
Grosfoguel, R., 2007, ‘The epistemic decolonial turn: beyond political economy paradigms’, Cultural Studies 21: 211–13.
Keita, L., 2014, ‘On the problematic state of economic “science”, Africa Development XXXIX (1): 93–124.
Gumede, V. 2013, African Economic Renaissance as a Paradigm for Africa’s Socio-Economic Development’, in Kondlo, K., ed., Perspectives in Thought Leadership for Africa’s Renewal, Pretoria: AISA Press.
Gumede, V., 2015, ‘Editorial’, Africa Development XL (3): 1–12.
Gumede, V., and Pooe, T.K., 2014, ‘Foreign Direct Investment and Intra-Africa Trade: The Role of African Governments in the Context of African Renaissance’, in Muchie, M., Gumede, V., Lukhele-Olorunju, P. and Demissie, H., eds, Unite or Perish: Africa Fifty Years After the Founding of the OAU, Pretoria: AISA Press.
Jerven, M., 2010, African Growth Recurring: An Economic History Perspective on African Growth Episodes: 1690–2010, Simons Papers in Security and Development No. 4, June.
Martin, G., 2012, African Political Thought, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Mazrui, A., 2005, ‘Pan-Africanism and the Intellectuals: Rise, Decline and Revival’, in Mkandawire, T., ed., African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Mbeki, T., 2014, The task of the African progressive movement’, The Thinker: Pan-African Quarterly for Thought Leaders, Quarter 1, 59: 12–20.
Mkandawire, T., 2011, ‘Running while others walked: knowledge and the challenge of Africa’s development’, Africa Development XXXVI (2): 1–36.
Mkandawire, T., 2015, ‘Neopatrimonialism and the political economy of economic performance in Africa: critical reflections’, World Politics, May, 1–50.
Mpofu, W., 2013, ‘Coloniality in the scramble for African knowledge: a decolonial political perspective’, Africanus: Journal of Development Studies 43 (2): 105–17.
Mudimbe, V.Y., 1994, The Idea of Africa, Oxford: James Currey.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S., 2013, Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonization, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Polanyi, K., 1944, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origin of Our Time, Boston: Beacon Press.
Ribeiro, G., 2011, ‘Why (post)colonialism and (de)coloniality are not enough: a post-imperialist perspective, Postcolonial Studies 14 (3): 285–97.
Robinson, W., 2004, A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class and State in a Transnational World, Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rodney, W., 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Dar es Salaam: Ujuzi Books.
Sen, A., 1999, Development as Freedom, New York: Anchor.
Sesanti, S., 2015, ‘Teaching African philosophy in African institutions of higher learning: the implications for African renaissance’, South African Journal of Philosophy 34 (3): 346–57.
Shivji, I., 2009, Accumulation in an African Periphery: A Theoretical Framework, Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers.
Stiglitz, J. Lin, J. Monga, C. and Patel, E., 2013, Industrial Policy in the African Context, Washington, DC: World Bank.
Strange, S., 1994, States and the Markets, London: Bloomsbury.
Tandon, Y., 2015, ‘Development is resistance’, Africa Development XL (3): 139–59.
wa Thiong’o, N., 1986, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, Oxford: James Currey