The Failure and Feasibility of Capitalism in Africa

by Kenneth Omeje

Overview

This book argues that capitalism has practically failed to deliver the long-desired economic transformation and inclusive development in postcolonial Africa. The principal factor that accounts for this failure is the prolific non-productive forms of capitalism that tend to be dominant in the African continent and their governance dimensions. The research explores how and why capitalism has failed in the African context and the feasibility of turning it around. The book meets the demands of diverse audiences in the fields of International Political Economy, Development Economics, Political Science, and African Studies. The author adopts an unconventional narrativist approach that makes the book amenable to general readership.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030751722
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	07/24/2021
Series:	International Political Economy Series
Edition description:	1st ed. 2021
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kenneth Omeje is Director of Manifold Crown Consulting Services based in Bradford, UK, and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Peace and Security Studies in Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He is also an Extraordinary Professor of Development Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Table of Contents

1.Capitalism and the African Context.- 2.The Post-Colonial State: From Frontier Capitalism to Neocolonial Capitalism.- 3.The “French – Africa Connection” and the Refusal to Decolonise.- 4.Natural Resources and Rentier Capitalism.- 5.Dysfunctional Versions of Capitalism and the Political Economy of “Eating”.- 6.Key Governance Dimensions of Dysfunctionality.- 7.China – Africa Relations: Averting the Risk of Deepening Subaltern Capitalism.- 8.Productive Forms of Capitalism: Trends and Prospects.- 9.Postscript on Covid-19 in Africa.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Kenneth Omeje has produced a magisterial work on Africa’s development. This book, with its unique blend of sophisticated theories of development and practice, has focused our attention with much detailed insights into some of the major problems of economic and political transformation facing the African continent. It is compulsory reading for anyone interested in economic and social transformation in Africa.”

—Alfred B. Zack-Williams, Professor Emeritus in Sociology, University of Central Lancashire, UK

“The Failure and Feasibility of Capitalism in Africa offers a wide ranging and comprehensive tour d’horizon of the continent’s historical development. Deeply critical of the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative, Kenneth Omeje provides a compelling account of the forms, trajectories and failures of capitalist development while offering up a clear-eyed assessment of the prospects of turning around Africa’s current predicaments. An urgent and provocative contribution.”

—Michael Watts, Class of 63 Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, USA