Page 44 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 6
P. 44
ECONOMY
soul, level of consciousness or ca is a country of two economic tion, alcoholism, war, etc. that at
life-force nations’, i.e. the first economy present cannot be solved, could
It sees a human-centered one and the second economy’. be solved, or at least greatly
world. Prof. Herbert Vilakazi (2001) alleviated, in a world organized
It believes that the material gain “The challenge for us in Africa, according to the central princi-
alone cannot lead to true de- is to develop a new economics, ples of Afrinomics Theory.
velopment; economic activities which shall be a reflection of Before I begin, however, I will
are inter-related with all other the economic experiences of give two answers to what law-
aspects of life. the overwhelming majority of yers call a threshold question.
It believes that people’s well-be- society, the African people”. A threshold question is a ques-
ing and their very identity are tion that needs to be answered
rooted in their spiritual, social, Epistemic Reflexivity before beginning the analysis
and cultural traditions. In a sense, the Afrinomics proper. My threshold question
Literature Review Theory attempts to be involved, here is the question why a white
Aristotle, “Man was not an eco- with other global forces, in an man such as me would want to
nomic but a social being. Man’s organized process of de-colo- contribute to building an African
economy was, as a rule, sub- nizing and over-hauling West- thought, such as this one, is
merged in social relations”. ern capitalism so that it could sometimes identified with the
Karl Polanyi (1940) “Lais- serve humanity well, and we conviction that the opinions of
sez-faire industrial capitalism can do that if we move from white men have dominated the
separated out economy from outside to the inside, and begin world far too long, and that it
society and polity by turning to domesticate all the economic is time to reconstruct the world
labor, land and other natural methodologies and approaches according to the opinions of
resources into commodities…” that were ideologically con- people who are not white, or not
Prof. Adebayo Adedeji (1982) structed, as Western economic male, or neither white nor male.
“Most development paradigms constitutive rules, and begin to If Afrinomics Theory is in princi-
in Africa have been grounded problematize new epistemolog- ple a revolt against me, it might
in Western political and devel- ical approaches that are based appear masochistic on my part
opment traditions that failed to on our own cosmogonies, i.e. to be contributing to a revolt
take cognizance of Africa’s cul- look at things from within and against myself.
tural and historical background”. re-humanize the economic Firstly, as Bhengu makes clear,
Prof. George Ayittey (2005), world. Afrinomics Theory is not a
“The type of capitalism prac- It is in this sense, that this theo- racist doctrine. It proposes a
ticed in Africa was of a different ry explores ways and means of non-racial world with respect for
variety. Profit was not appro- creating an economic-cultural cultural diversity, organized by a
priated by a single individual or synergy, which would achieve philosophy originating in Africa
by corporate owners, as in the an integral, re-humanized and (where indeed, as Dani Nadu-
West. Nor was it appropriated moral economic system, that bere and others have shown,
by the state, as in the East. In would, in turn, create an integral European philosophy also origi-
indigenous Africa, profit was and holistic economy. nated). Afrinomics Theory is not
shared between the owners and an African attack on the rest of
the workers”. Review of Afrinomics Theory humankind. It is an African con-
Prof. Ali Mazrui (1966) ‘African Every day I feel an urgent need tribution to all of humankind.
integrity motive vs Western to put into practice the central Secondly, Afrinomics Theory,
profit motive’. ideas of Afrinomics Theory. I with its roots in a particular set
Julius Nyerere (1968), came feel it whenever I see beggars of cultures and in the history of
up with the theory of Ujamaa in on the street, and whenever I a particular geographical area,
Tanzania. learn something of the life story is an example of a new, better,
Kwame Nkruma (1967), empha- of someone who has suffered and more believable form of
sized African socialism concept economic adversities. I believe, humanism. By “old” humanism
as articulated in his famous further, that problems that are I mean the universal rights of
book “Consciencism”. not strictly economic such as man of the European Enlight-
Thabo Mbeki (2007) ‘South Afri- crime, environmental degrada- enment. They are classically
44 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
