3 - The Global Economic Crisis and the Africa Rising Narrative
Corresponding Author(s) : Devan Pillay
Africa Development,
Vol. 40 No. 3 (2015): Africa Development: Special Issue on Transforming Global Relations for a Just World
Abstract
As seductive as the Africa rising narrative is, this article argues that it is misleading. It draws the people of Africa into a false sense of promise – of ‘development’ and ‘decent’ jobs for all – that can never be delivered by the current economic growth paradigm. A radical rethink is needed to break out of the cycle of deepening inequality, dispossession and ecological devastation. The ‘modernisation’ paradigm based on incessant production and consumption can only meet the needs of an enclave within a sea of poverty, pollution and plunder. Africa is regarded by transnational corporations and their governments as the last piece of virgin territory left to exploit for maximum returns. This search for new avenues of accumulation must be understood in the context of the intertwined global socio-economic as well as ecological crisis, where capital acts as a spreading virus. It develops but also destroys; if left to its own devices, its destructive power is incalculable.This article situates the Africa rising narrative, and the challenges of growth and development, within the context of the global poly-crisis. It examines the economic and ecological dimensions of this continuing crisis, and asks whether Africa’s future prospects lie with mimicking the industrial development paths of Europe and North America, which leads to enclave development, or in forging a new holistic developmental path that avoids the pitfalls of dispossession, environmental injustice and rising social inequality.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Altvater, A., 2006, ‘The Social and Natural Environment of Fossil Capitalism’, in Socialist Register 2007, New Delhi: Leftword Books.
- Amin, S., 2008, ‘Preface’, in A. Bieler, I. Lindberg and D. Pillay, eds, Labour and the Challenges of Globalisation: What Prospects for Transnational Solidarity? London: Pluto.
- Angus, I., 2009, The Global Fight for Climate Justice:Anticapitalist Responses to Global Warming and Environmental Destruction, London: Resistance Books.
- Arrighi, G., 2007, Adam Smith in Beijing, London: Verso.
- Atwell, 2011, ‘Food versus fuel? State, business, civil society and the bio-fuels debate in South Africa’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 2: New Paths, Old Com[promises? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Baran, P. & Sweezy, P., 1968, Monopoly Capitalism, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
- Bieler, A., Lindberg, I. & Pillay, D. eds, 2008, Labour and the Challenges of Globalisation: What Prospects for Transnational Solidarity? London: Pluto.
- Brenner, R., 2009, ‘Overproduction not Financial Collapse is the Heart of the Crisis: the US, East Asia, and the World’, Interview with Jeong Seong-jin, The Asia-Pacific Journal, 6 May 2009.
- Bruno, K. & Karliner, J., 2004 Earthsummit.biz: The Corporate Takeover of Sustainable Development, Oakland: Food First Books.
- Bullard, N., 2009, ‘To Live Well’, in D. Ransom and V. Baird, eds, 2009, People First Economics, Oxford: New Internationalist Publications.
- Burkett, P., 2006, Marxism and Ecological Economics, Leiden: Brill.
- Clapp, J. & Dauvergne, P. 2011, Paths to a Green World, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
- Cock, J., 2007, The War Against Ourselves: Nature, Power and Justice, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Cock, J., 2013, ‘Ask for a camel when you expect a goat: Contentious politics and the climate justice movement’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 3: The Second Phase – Tragedy or Farce? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Cock, J., 2014, ‘The “Green Economy”: A just and sustainable path or a wolf in sheep’s clothing?’ Global Labour Journal, Vol 5 (1) January, pp. 21-44.
- Coleman, K., 2013, ‘The Economics of the NDP’, in Progressive Economics Network, eds, The National Development Plan: 7 Critical Appraisals, Cape Town AIDC.
- Dullien, S., Herr, H., and C. Kellerman, 2011, Decent Capitalism: A Blueprint for Reforming our Economies, London: Pluto Press.
- Fig D., 2010, ‘Reluctant Embrace: South Africa and renewable energy’, Paper delivered at the ‘Emerging economies in the New World Order: Promises, Pitfalls and Priorities’ Conference, New Delhi.
- Fig D. 2011, ‘Corrosion and externalities: The socio-economic impacts of acid mine drainage on the Witwatersrand’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 2: New Paths, Old Com[promises? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Fine, B. & Rustomjee, Z., 1996, The Political Economy of South Africa: From Minerals-Energy Complex to Industrialisation, Boulder: Westview Press.
- Fioramonti, L., 2014, ‘Africa Rising? Think Again’, Perspectives, Issue 1, February (Heinrich Boll Stiftung).
- Frank, A. G., 1966, The Development of Underdevelopment, New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Foster, J. B., 1999, Marx’s Ecology, New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Foster, J. B., 2009, The Environmental Revolution. New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Foster J. B. and F. Magdoff, 2009, The Great Financial Crisis, New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Friedman, T., 2008, Hot, Flat and Crowded, London: Allan Lane.
- Giddens, A., 2009, The Politics of Climate Change, London: Polity,
- Gore, A., 2006, An Inconvenient Truth, New York: Rodale.
- Harvey, D., 2005, The New Imperialism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Harvey, D. 2014, Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism, Oxford University Press.
- Hallowes, D., 2011, Toxic Futures: South Africa in the Crises of Energy, Environment and Capital, Pietermaritzburg: UKZN Press.
- Kellog, P., 2012, ‘ALBA and UNASUR – The Emergence of Counter-hegemonic Regional Associations’.
- Kovel, J., 2002, The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? London: Zed Books.
- Marx, K., 1894/1981, Capital Vol 3, New York: Penguin.
- Mielants, E. H., 2007, The Origins of Capitalism and the “Rise of the West”, Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
- Morales, E., 2009, ‘How to Save the World, Life and Humanity’, in D. Ransom and V. Baird, eds, People First Economics, Oxford: New Internationalist Publications.
- Numsa (National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa), 2012, ‘Building a Socially-Owned Renewable Energy Sector in SA’, Resolution of the NUMSA 9th National Congress, 4-8 June.
- One Million Climate Jobs Campaign, 2013, One Million Climate Job. A just transition to a low carbon economy to combat unemployment and climate change, Cape Town: One Million Climate Jobs.
- Oxfam, 2014, Working For the Few, Oxfam Briefing Paper, 20 January.
- Oxfam, 2015, ‘The cost of inequality: how wealth and income extremes hurt us all’, Oxfam Media Briefing, 18 January.
- Peet, R., 2009, The Unholy Trinity: The World Bank, IMF and WTO, London: Zed Books.
- Perry, A., 2010, Falling off the Edge: Globalization, World Peace and Other Lies. (2nd Edition), London: Pan Books.
- Piketty, T., 2014, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
- Polany, K., 1944, The Great Transformation, Boston: Beacon Press.
- Ransom, D., and Baird, V., eds, 2009, People First Economics, Oxford: New Internationalist Publications.
- Rothkopf, D., 2009, Superclass: How the Rich Ruined our World, London: Abacus.
- Rudin, J., 2013, ‘NDP: The deadly road from GEAR to climate change’, in Progressive Economics Network, eds, The National Development Plan: 7 Critical Appraisals. Cape Town AIDC.
- Sachs, W., ed., 2001, The Jo’burg-Memo: Memorandum for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg: Heinrich Böll Foundation.
- Satgar, V., 2014, South Africa’s Emergent ‘Green Developmental State’ in M. Williams ed., Rethinking the Developmental State, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Sen, A., 1999, Development as Freedom, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Sharife, K. and Bond, P., 2011, ‘Above and beyond South Africa’s minerals-energy complex’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 2: New Paths, Old Compromises? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Shiva, V., 2008, Soil Not Oil, Boston: South End Press.
- Silver, B., 2004, Forces of Labour, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2014, Human Development Report 2014. Sustaining Human Progess: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience. New York: UNDP.
- Wade, R., 1996/2007, ‘Japan, the World Bank and the Art of Paradigm Maintenance – the East Asian Miracle in Political Perspective’, in D. Moore, ed., The World Bank: Development, Poverty, Hegemony Scottsville: UKZN Press.
- Wallerstein, I. 1979, The Capitalist World-Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Wanner, T., 2007, ‘The Bank’s “Greenspeak”: the Power of Knowledge and ”Sustain development”, in D. Moore, ed., The World Bank: Development, Poverty, Hegemony. Scottsville: UKZN Press.
References
Altvater, A., 2006, ‘The Social and Natural Environment of Fossil Capitalism’, in Socialist Register 2007, New Delhi: Leftword Books.
Amin, S., 2008, ‘Preface’, in A. Bieler, I. Lindberg and D. Pillay, eds, Labour and the Challenges of Globalisation: What Prospects for Transnational Solidarity? London: Pluto.
Angus, I., 2009, The Global Fight for Climate Justice:Anticapitalist Responses to Global Warming and Environmental Destruction, London: Resistance Books.
Arrighi, G., 2007, Adam Smith in Beijing, London: Verso.
Atwell, 2011, ‘Food versus fuel? State, business, civil society and the bio-fuels debate in South Africa’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 2: New Paths, Old Com[promises? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Baran, P. & Sweezy, P., 1968, Monopoly Capitalism, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Bieler, A., Lindberg, I. & Pillay, D. eds, 2008, Labour and the Challenges of Globalisation: What Prospects for Transnational Solidarity? London: Pluto.
Brenner, R., 2009, ‘Overproduction not Financial Collapse is the Heart of the Crisis: the US, East Asia, and the World’, Interview with Jeong Seong-jin, The Asia-Pacific Journal, 6 May 2009.
Bruno, K. & Karliner, J., 2004 Earthsummit.biz: The Corporate Takeover of Sustainable Development, Oakland: Food First Books.
Bullard, N., 2009, ‘To Live Well’, in D. Ransom and V. Baird, eds, 2009, People First Economics, Oxford: New Internationalist Publications.
Burkett, P., 2006, Marxism and Ecological Economics, Leiden: Brill.
Clapp, J. & Dauvergne, P. 2011, Paths to a Green World, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Cock, J., 2007, The War Against Ourselves: Nature, Power and Justice, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Cock, J., 2013, ‘Ask for a camel when you expect a goat: Contentious politics and the climate justice movement’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 3: The Second Phase – Tragedy or Farce? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Cock, J., 2014, ‘The “Green Economy”: A just and sustainable path or a wolf in sheep’s clothing?’ Global Labour Journal, Vol 5 (1) January, pp. 21-44.
Coleman, K., 2013, ‘The Economics of the NDP’, in Progressive Economics Network, eds, The National Development Plan: 7 Critical Appraisals, Cape Town AIDC.
Dullien, S., Herr, H., and C. Kellerman, 2011, Decent Capitalism: A Blueprint for Reforming our Economies, London: Pluto Press.
Fig D., 2010, ‘Reluctant Embrace: South Africa and renewable energy’, Paper delivered at the ‘Emerging economies in the New World Order: Promises, Pitfalls and Priorities’ Conference, New Delhi.
Fig D. 2011, ‘Corrosion and externalities: The socio-economic impacts of acid mine drainage on the Witwatersrand’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 2: New Paths, Old Com[promises? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Fine, B. & Rustomjee, Z., 1996, The Political Economy of South Africa: From Minerals-Energy Complex to Industrialisation, Boulder: Westview Press.
Fioramonti, L., 2014, ‘Africa Rising? Think Again’, Perspectives, Issue 1, February (Heinrich Boll Stiftung).
Frank, A. G., 1966, The Development of Underdevelopment, New York: Monthly Review Press.
Foster, J. B., 1999, Marx’s Ecology, New York: Monthly Review Press.
Foster, J. B., 2009, The Environmental Revolution. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Foster J. B. and F. Magdoff, 2009, The Great Financial Crisis, New York: Monthly Review Press.
Friedman, T., 2008, Hot, Flat and Crowded, London: Allan Lane.
Giddens, A., 2009, The Politics of Climate Change, London: Polity,
Gore, A., 2006, An Inconvenient Truth, New York: Rodale.
Harvey, D., 2005, The New Imperialism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harvey, D. 2014, Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism, Oxford University Press.
Hallowes, D., 2011, Toxic Futures: South Africa in the Crises of Energy, Environment and Capital, Pietermaritzburg: UKZN Press.
Kellog, P., 2012, ‘ALBA and UNASUR – The Emergence of Counter-hegemonic Regional Associations’.
Kovel, J., 2002, The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? London: Zed Books.
Marx, K., 1894/1981, Capital Vol 3, New York: Penguin.
Mielants, E. H., 2007, The Origins of Capitalism and the “Rise of the West”, Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Morales, E., 2009, ‘How to Save the World, Life and Humanity’, in D. Ransom and V. Baird, eds, People First Economics, Oxford: New Internationalist Publications.
Numsa (National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa), 2012, ‘Building a Socially-Owned Renewable Energy Sector in SA’, Resolution of the NUMSA 9th National Congress, 4-8 June.
One Million Climate Jobs Campaign, 2013, One Million Climate Job. A just transition to a low carbon economy to combat unemployment and climate change, Cape Town: One Million Climate Jobs.
Oxfam, 2014, Working For the Few, Oxfam Briefing Paper, 20 January.
Oxfam, 2015, ‘The cost of inequality: how wealth and income extremes hurt us all’, Oxfam Media Briefing, 18 January.
Peet, R., 2009, The Unholy Trinity: The World Bank, IMF and WTO, London: Zed Books.
Perry, A., 2010, Falling off the Edge: Globalization, World Peace and Other Lies. (2nd Edition), London: Pan Books.
Piketty, T., 2014, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Polany, K., 1944, The Great Transformation, Boston: Beacon Press.
Ransom, D., and Baird, V., eds, 2009, People First Economics, Oxford: New Internationalist Publications.
Rothkopf, D., 2009, Superclass: How the Rich Ruined our World, London: Abacus.
Rudin, J., 2013, ‘NDP: The deadly road from GEAR to climate change’, in Progressive Economics Network, eds, The National Development Plan: 7 Critical Appraisals. Cape Town AIDC.
Sachs, W., ed., 2001, The Jo’burg-Memo: Memorandum for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg: Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Satgar, V., 2014, South Africa’s Emergent ‘Green Developmental State’ in M. Williams ed., Rethinking the Developmental State, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Sen, A., 1999, Development as Freedom, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sharife, K. and Bond, P., 2011, ‘Above and beyond South Africa’s minerals-energy complex’, in J. Daniel, P. Naidoo, D. Pillay and R. Southall, eds, New South African Review 2: New Paths, Old Compromises? Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Shiva, V., 2008, Soil Not Oil, Boston: South End Press.
Silver, B., 2004, Forces of Labour, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2014, Human Development Report 2014. Sustaining Human Progess: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience. New York: UNDP.
Wade, R., 1996/2007, ‘Japan, the World Bank and the Art of Paradigm Maintenance – the East Asian Miracle in Political Perspective’, in D. Moore, ed., The World Bank: Development, Poverty, Hegemony Scottsville: UKZN Press.
Wallerstein, I. 1979, The Capitalist World-Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wanner, T., 2007, ‘The Bank’s “Greenspeak”: the Power of Knowledge and ”Sustain development”, in D. Moore, ed., The World Bank: Development, Poverty, Hegemony. Scottsville: UKZN Press.