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Why Liberal Capitalism Has Failed to Stimulate a Democratic Culture in Africa

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  • Alfred Ndi

    (University of Bamenda, Republic of Cameroon)

Abstract

Using a critical review of selected works on Africa by prominent African intellectuals, this interdisciplinary study concludes that, contrary to Amartya Sen’s theory about the “real freedoms†that people enjoy in democratic states, these freedoms cannot be realized in Africa, because the continent’s mode of capitalism is dependent upon international finance. This system cannot function as an autonomous structure and has engendered major political contradictions in the continent’s nation-states. The capitalist ruling elites have hindered the expansion of full democratic rights in Africa by encouraging and exploiting the politics of class division. The African experience with liberal democracy indicates that Sen’s theory of development and “real freedoms†fails to take into account these contradictions as well as the religious and cultural idioms in Africa that run counter to liberal conceptions of emancipation. Achieving democracy and freedom in Africa is not merely a question of capacity building, it involves resolving difficult issues of power – particularly, in class and gender relations. The essay concludes by suggesting that there needs to be a shift away from conceptualizing development in terms of only economic factors to a new approach which combines more enlightened neoliberal capitalism with new indigenous strategies of development.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfred Ndi, 2011. "Why Liberal Capitalism Has Failed to Stimulate a Democratic Culture in Africa," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 27(2), pages 177-200, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:jodeso:v:27:y:2011:i:2:p:177-200
    DOI: 10.1177/0169796X1102700204
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Lewis & Dennis Rodgers & Michael Woolcock, 2008. "The Fiction of Development: Literary Representation as a Source of Authoritative Knowledge," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 198-216.
    2. Rukudzo Murapa, 1976. "Nationalization of the Zambian mining industry," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 40-52, September.
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