George Ayittey was an economist from Ghana who was known for his advocacy of free markets as the key to escaping poverty in Africa. He opposed government meddling (e.g. price controls) and argued that foreign aid did more harm than good.
He passed away earlier this month, and Magatte Wade and Michael Strong have written a splendid tribute to him here.
The authors write, “He made it his life’s work to call out corruption in all its hydra-headed forms. A common metaphor he liked to invoke was that of the complacent, greedy bureaucrat wallowing in the muck and setting the continent back, which he called ‘hippos,’ pitted against the plucky African shopkeeper — fast-moving, entrepreneurial, overwhelmingly female — who were its saviors, the ‘cheetahs.’”
Ayittey disputed the common idea that African institutions were historically socialist. Socialism was, he argued, a European import that badly damaged the people and obstructed progress.
He suffered for his beliefs. Wade and Strong note, “His unorthodox views and moral passion won him many converts but also made him many enemies. That he lived to the ripe old age of 77 is almost a miracle. He spent multiple stints in prison for speaking his mind. His office was often ransacked and once received a bomb threat.”
Read the whole thing.