Capitalism and African Economic Development

Mr. Bauer has come forward with a revolutionary thesis: The new African countries, he suggests, will do better if they fire their planners and try free enterprise

There has been very rapid material progress in many parts of Africa over the last sixty to eighty years, particularly in regions where the developed countries have established close contact. This disposes both of the vicious circle of poverty (the cornerstone of the dominant ideology) and of the allegation that contact with the developed world has obstructed African progress. This is, of course, not to say that people in the materially advanced parts are either more or less happy than they are elsewhere or than their forebears. But this is a different issue.

PB

About the Author

Peter Bauer

Featured Tags

Mr. Bauer has come forward with a revolutionary thesis: The new African countries, he suggests, will do better if they fire their planners and try free enterprise

There has been very rapid material progress in many parts of Africa over the last sixty to eighty years, particularly in regions where the developed countries have established close contact. This disposes both of the vicious circle of poverty (the cornerstone of the dominant ideology) and of the allegation that contact with the developed world has obstructed African progress. This is, of course, not to say that people in the materially advanced parts are either more or less happy than they are elsewhere or than their forebears. But this is a different issue.