Why Africa is so Poor (Hint: It isn’t Colonialism)
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2023
- Colonialism isn’t the only reason Africa is poor. It isn’t even the primary reason. Here’s the real reason why Africa is the poorest continent in the world.
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As Kenyan I will tell you our biggest problem with Africa isint colonialism it's poor leadership / corruption we lack nothing but good leadership !
A fellow kenyan here backs you up 😢
There are three problems I see with African nations.
Corruption
Lack of sensible domestic investment
Old tribal conflicts
If these three things could be sorted out, there is no reason that African nations couldn't become the richest people in human history. Africa is so full of resources and people with huge potential, it could easily fuel its own growth for decades to come, possibly centuries with the amount of stuff you have in the ground.
@@sdm6054 Yes! Africans aren’t stupid. With investment in education and infrastructure, African countries could develop their human resources to draw foreign investments and build businesses. If that growth was distributed in a way that didn’t leave huge swaths of the country desperately poor, the whole country would rise, and fiends who want to tear down the system would have a harder time finding allies.
The leaders did not fall from the sky. They're products of the society.
ruto has entered the chat
I'm South African and live in South Africa. I have traveled and worked throughout Africa. I have worked in the really poor parts of South Africa too for an organization called Afrika Ticcun which attempts to uplift poor Black people. Just one of many incidents I've encountered. An organization decided to build a community center in an impoverished area. They were donating this absolutely free to the community. As work got going a delegation of locals visited and demanded 35% of the value of the contract be paid to them in cash otherwise the building will be burned down and any workers(all workers were Black) who attempted to continue the project, would be murdered. This happened on numerous similar projects. This is what happens with aid sent to Africa. Everyone and his mother demands their "fair" share before maybe 2% reaches the poor on the ground.
Appalling.
This is very similar to what's happening in the USA with black lives matter burning down businesses and stealing in the name of fair share.
So what happened to that project? Did they give in to the extortion? Was it cancelled?
@@pierrecurieyes, normally the projects try to continue, but eventually take so long to finish that it loses money and no one gets paid. It's very complicated to understand the situation, but the average person wants to work, but is prohibited by a small violent group.😢
Sorry to say boet, but the charity is part of the problem. Welfare state, welfare corruption.
I had an Uber driver from Africa. He is doing great in the USA. He told me his dad died in Africa. Some distant relatives came to his house with guns and told the family to get out and they took the dads house. I said can’t u go to court ? He said no. Pretty crazy
How do I explain this now 🤔
In certain cultures, when a man passes away, his family members, including brothers, uncles, and nephews, inherit his property. The wife and her kids have to cultivate positive relationships with them to ensure a fair share of her late husband's property or sometimes the kids resort to violence if they’re old enough. If the family doesn’t like her, it could negatively impact her situation following her husband's death.
But things are changing now, slowly but steadily we are making progress.
@Kpelz that's barbaric culture. No wonder you struggled so much to advance despite having thousand of years of a head start over Europeans.
Which country?
@@axiezimmah And it will likely remain barbaric for the next 500 years.
I bet he wishes his ancestors got sold as slaves in America. It would have saved him personally a lot of effort and anguish to get tot the states. not nice for his ancestors but good for the descendants.
As an African by birth I put forward these factors for the lack of progress on that continent: poor education, poor work ethic, tribal conflicts and never ending civil wars, avaricious leaders, lack of ambition and vision.
They want you to believe Africans hated each other before the white man came and destroyed our sense of community.This same man (the white man) that benefits from slavery and colonialism is the same one trying to shift blame on Africans and Black people worldwide! He failed to mention all the atrocities his people inflicted on their victims. He also wants us to ignore that his people are the same people stealing gold, diamonds and other resources right now in Africa, and oppressing people around the globe!
And why are all those things in place
My dad was in the Royal Marines and served for over two years in Africa. He would scoff at so called racism in the West and would say, "If you want to see racism go to Africa, because no one treats a black man worse than another black man". When I was a kid and often my school would be doing something charitable for Africa, he'd refuse to donate and say, "Until you sort out corruption giving to Africa is pointless". You say this these days and you'd be considered a racist, but was he wrong......
........
He is not wrong I live here in Namibia and I see it daily.
True.
I couldn't agree more. Lived in Tanzania for almost 4 years, travelled around the continent and that was exactly what I saw. Having also lived previously in Singapore, I can say the contrast could not be more extreme!! And it is but a question of good management.
It's an emotional "argument" and always has been. If someone called you a heretic or a poopyface, would you even bother continuing the conversation? Of course not.
An old boss told me of her time working on contracts for projects in Africa. They had to add a certain percentage to cover the bribes necessary to have the bid even considered. Then they had to factor in the cost for future bribes, for locals stealing the supplies, for damages caused by local workers being drunk on the job, for "inspection" fees from the local gangs ...
It's place on the budget as extra administrative cost 😂
Yeah, I thought the main problems were corruption and tribalism.
Sad but all true . this greed by a few evil black men is the reason Africa will never prosper under a black run goverment .
Pre Communist collapse a company I worked for, shipping goods into the Communist block, gave each driver 1,200 dollars to pay bribes etc on his trips, into, around and out again.
So it's not just Africa... But look how awful some Communist states were to live in.
A friend of mine handled the sale of 100 buses manufactured by the US company he was working for, about 30 years ago. They were to be sold to an Arab country. The deal was brokered by some Arab Sheik, a middleman. My friend’s company invoiced that Arab country for the said 100 buses at an inflated price. However, they delivered 110 buses to the middleman who, presumably, passed on the 100 buses originally ordered to his client. Oh, and I do know the name of that US manufacturer!
There has been a systematic dismantling of all of the infrastructure put in by Europeans. Bribery and corruption is their biggest issue along with leaders who line their own pockets at the expense of their people. I had a friend who was going back to Zimbabwe for Christmas, he was a nurse and he had to take 2 suitcases of gifts back for family members. He stated that there would still be relatives complaining that he hadn’t spent enough on them. There is an air of resentment and jealousy whenever someone else makes a success of themselves.
Exactly I call it D. Evil tactic, the devil doesn't force you to do anything he plays on your psyche. Force you to commit the 7 deadly sins (this is human nature to do these things) the Bible is guide to put disciplines in place to fight the exploitation of your mind.
I believe Europeans couldn't beat Africans because they were vicious fighters. So they use psyop to make them go against each other then they go in and take what they need.
Africans have been using guerrilla warfare tactics for years, not just Ameri Indians as well; Mayans Aztecs too. It was scary so they had to use a different approach deceive
An French or Belgian Congolese artist told a similar story: when he returned to Congo for the first time to visit his mother whom he had not seen for years ( he had come to Europe with his father, a little boy), the look she gave him when he gave her his reunion gifts. A look that told him of his uselessness and futility, and a gap in mentality. She expected him to contribute to the economy of his African family as a whole, especially as a recognized artist.
They want you to believe Africans hated each other before the white man came and destroyed our sense of community.This same man (the white man) that benefits from slavery and colonialism is the same one trying to shift blame on Africans and Black people worldwide! He failed to mention all the atrocities his people inflicted on their victims. He also wants us to ignore that his people are the same people stealing gold, diamonds and other resources right now in Africa, and oppressing people around the globe!
I think this is an issue of cultural differences, you guys seem to not understand that most African families are united and intact, the colonizers are still trying to dismantle them and they are succeeding, however my point is that if family is close obviously the elements of entitlement eg my brother or uncle will feel some type of way if I don't bring them something. Mind you overseas west is overrated in Africa, and most guys who are there are depressed because its a rat race, while the small rooms and cold don't make it any better with that racism staring down your throat. As an African I think most of our bros and sis would rather stay in the continent, but they would have quit their jobs this side and as it is overrated that side coming back may be embarrassing for some.
@@auspiciousnkomo3071 The example of this Congolese singer was precisely about the "something" he brought back to his mother on first time he saw her since he was a little boy. He was embarrassed only because he hadn't seen her for many years (I don't remember what their emotional bound was, but I guess it was quite low, as if the father had quitted to never return).
He offered her his new CD (I guess among other "small" gifts), because for him, as the man he was (an African or Binational grown in Europe), this object was a testimony alone of what he had socially achieved there in the meantime, an object that would define him before his mother's eye. The mother was expecting a more worthy gift to account for his long absence or his relative wealthy situation in Europe: she was naturally expecting a wad of cash and not of the value of a mere CD and other symbolic trinkets. Or perhaps he should have came with a truck full of kindle wood, Idk.
The mother's expectation doesn't exclude some kind of maternal love, and I won't judge, but I think this example is telling something.
You know someone is guilty when they say “don’t look at me it wasn’t me”😂
Or they start saying things like it isn’t the “whole truth” 😂😂
one word… corruption
Every continent has corruption but still manages some form of progress. Africa is uniquely stuck for the reason addressed in the video.
@@LeeTheKnightpoor countries are more corrupt. You fail to realize that....
@@bankrollace8737India was known for its corrupt bureaucracy and was almost ra**d by UK during colonial times. Yet you visit India today and it's incredible how much progress they have made.
Japan, Korea, Germany, France, Russia were destroyed after world war 2, they recovered swiftly and dominate the world within few decades.
The reason for Africa's failure is exactly the same as to why they have never contributed anything towards, science, architecture, art, engineering, food etc.
It's genetics!
Although colonialism played a big part, if you research about Africa's history you realize that Africa wasn't doing that much better before colonization anyway. So my theory is that Africa is destined for stagnation because the general population has less average IQ compared to the rest of the world.
@@robertmills3830 I could same the same about Eastern Europe
Africa must take their destiny into their own hands. Stop corruption, exploitation and puppets politicians.
If that ever happened, it would be like the Pope announcing to the World, that he's suddenly become an atheist...
And entitlement and I am a poor victim.
It might be a good thing for the western world to try this first.
@@m.r.e.s.6401
They already did, 2000 years ago...
Easier said than done
In South Africa I worked for a company supplying cargo vessels with all their needed supplies. Whenever we literally had to take a small truck load of booze to a vessel it was common fact that the vessel had to dock in Nigeria. Why? Because if you did not, the "port authority" folks would find some "problem'....and the vessel had to be restricted from leaving. Some times for weeks at anchor. This was at the lowest level of officialdom. Imagine the "fun" higher up the chain?
They want you to believe Africans hated each other before the white man came and destroyed our sense of community.This same man (the white man) that benefits from slavery and colonialism is the same one trying to shift blame on Africans and Black people worldwide! He failed to mention all the atrocities his people inflicted on their victims. He also wants us to ignore that his people are the same people stealing gold, diamonds and other resources right now in Africa, and oppressing people around the globe!
As an exemple, South America was also colonized, yet nowadays they are economically decent countries, and certainly do not play victim and blame Spain everytime something goes wrong. They take accountability.
The same goes for many Asian ex European colonies.
Africa is stuck in the past and always blame colonialism for everything that happens to them.
Latin America is extremely corrupt and is constantly dealing with internal violence and strife to the point where they consistently rank as being one of the deadliest places on earth. Not really the smoking gun you think it is.
It makes life a lot easier for its leaders if they blame colonialism for everything. A lot of the population is very young and were not around, so don't realize how far their country declined since independance.
Africa is like that 30-year-old child that lives at home and does nothing all day, but smoke weed and get his girlfriend pregnant and then blames his parents for having a shitty life. Even though they still feed him and let him use the car.
@@redf7209 This guy is lying. The problem is leadership, the government simply does not care. They care more about their own benefits than the dwellers of the nations. This problem can only change if the right leader is elected in all the the different countries. I'm a South African( this is a country not the south part of Africa) so I know what I'm talking about
Bruh
I am 66 years old, a white male and spent more than 40 years in Botswana. During that time, I travelled extensively through Africa and wherever I went, I was appalled at just how little the countries had managed to do anything whatsoever for their people. Instead, their leaders were well and truly aboard the gravy trains that ensured their own wealth at the expense of their people. Botswana is known as the "Switzerland" of Africa and is a shining light as to how, one of the poorest countries in the world, adapted and grew into an economic and political masterpiece, since the 30th September 1966. As a child, I too stood in the Gaborone National stadium that day shouting Pula, along with the proud Motswana people and I praise Sir Seretse Khama and those leaders who have followed him, for the wisdom and vision, that has seen the emergence of a Botswana, free of corruption and racial hatred. It is truly, the gem of Africa.
Don't forget Rwanda.
you misspelled "Chicago"
That's doubly incredible considering the 22% adult prevalence of HIV/AIDS and being only #7 in diamond exports.
$500 a month is the gem of Africa? So that's the best case for Africa, to get to $500 a month.
@@xpusostomos What does that $500 buy? That's the question.
Anecdotally there was a guy who posted his experience online when he was working as a missionary in one of the southern african countries. His main takeaway was the sense of entitlement that africans had whenever someone started to become successful. Whenever a guy was able to make a lot of money his relatives would ask, demand and threaten him to share. Whenever the missionaries gave out food the households that got the most food (due to having more members) would be hounded by their neighbors.
It might be a symptom of the marxist "limiting personal wealth" thing that these people are predisposed to demanding handouts. We see it in western countries and I see it daily in my own community.
I saw it as well growing up in poorer neighborhoods.
It's a sad reality of human nature. I started a business largely by accident and thus started to do well in life largely by accident. My reward from my family was to sue me over nothing real and do their damnedest to ruin me and my business for it.
Their view was literally that they did not see me as capable of doing so well on my own therefore they had the right to take it from me/destroy it/me because they cant have it, despite the glaring fact they have no clue who I am, what I do, or how I do things.
@@russianbot4418 How do you "accidently" started a business???
Also you family's behaviour screams,
- "You took everything from me."
- I don't even know who you are.
- "You will."
Sucks, cuz normally you would be praise by your family for standing on your two feet.
But then again, "sharing the pie" remains solely the norm amongst the poor and not the rich, so...
@@iamnothale It's basically a hobby that grew out of control and just sort of became a legitimate business at some point.
The family thing is a 100% control-at-all-costs thing that goes with aging-out narcissists. I was told in a family meeting that they control everything in the family and if I don't like it I can get out.
In the end, it cost them way more than it cost me and has set them up for a potentially massive damages countersuit due to how much dirt they revealed on themselves over the whole legal battle.
Turns out they have using me and other family members for years as tax write-offs by claiming on their taxes they were,
paying us management fees for the homes we own (None of us has ever seen as much as a penny in payments),
charging us rent for the same homes, (None of us has ever paid rent to anyone),
wrote off huge deductions for construction work that was never done by them (our own work done and paid for by ourselves)
and even writing us off as employees when we were never that either.
You see this a lot in some cultures.
I live near an Indian Reservation, and the main store there has a broken window. It's been broken for decades. They stopped trying to fix it because everything it would be broken again within a day. They were successful, and making money, so they needed to be knocked down to be equal.
And there is the whole, if you have extra, share it with family and neighbour's or you're bad. It's commonly talked about, but no one tries to change it.
For them it's a holdover from tribal days.
It’s very difficult to build up a continent where most of it seems to constantly be at war with itself.
Yes, let us figure out the issue here. You have for example Rwanda, invading a neighboring country to steal minerals such as coltan, guess who just handed Rwanda millions to house "migrants", and signed a deal for minerals sales, wait a minute Rwanda has no minerals the neighbor being invaded does. Any continent where there are foreign players directly meddling there is bound to be fights. Look at Ukrainne and Russia, if Zelenskyy had sought friendship with Putin and minded Ukrainiann business, they would be sipping tea together right now from Chinese mugs. He allowed to be preyed upon like Kagame and be used to attack his neighbor while the masters sat and pushed the lgbtq+ bill.
Several years ago the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. presented an exhibit called 1492. It showed the level of advancements in societies all around the world in the year that Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World. While the Europeans, the Middle East and Asians were building towering buildings, cathedrals and temples and advancing art, literature, math and science the sub-Saharan African continent was still living in the stone age even though they are reported to be the "cradle of human civilization" and had thousands of years head start on the rest of the world. Colonialism is blamed, but Africa's problems long predate it.
Australia was similar. Perhaps even more so, since the people there were completely isolated from the rest of the world for millennia.
People clearly changed when they left. Breeding with the Neanderthals and selection pressure for increased cognitive ability are plausible but not accepted because it offends people.
I still doubt that they are the craddle of civilization. The genetics of every other people is too different from Africans.
Mediterranean Europeans were building all that. Most of the rest Europe was very far behind civilization wise. For an example you can't compare Germany with Italy (Rome) and Greece (Ancient Greece).
Hitler : "Why do we call the whole world's attention to the fact that we have no past? It's bad enough that the Romans were erecting great buildings when our forefathers were still living in mud huts; now Himmler is starting to dig up these villages of mud huts and enthusing over every potsherd and stone ax he finds. All we prove by that is that we were still throwing stone hatchets and crouching around open fires when Greece and Rome had already reached the highest stage of culture. We really should do our best to keep quiet about this past. Instead Himmler makes a great fuss about it all. The present-day Romans must be having a laugh at these revelations."
Yeah Hitler. That guy. You know the one who started the whole Aryan superior race ideology with the Nazi party and considered Arabs "half apes".
@@keshi5541 Bro😢
@@keshi5541 In 1492? No, most of Europe had cities by then. The great buildings tended to be cathedrals though.
I met a Nigerian in the USA. I asked him “how would the Nigerians feel if one of your own made it big in tech and became a billionaire…….and decided to come back to Nigeria and invest in developing an industry (like tourism or tech)?” He told me that it would never work since the people would fight over who was getting jobs and who wasn’t. They’d blame the billionaire because he was “trying to further enrich himself”. He had ZERO faith in his OWN people! 😢
Crabs in a bucket, its why rappers don't go back to their communities, the others feel entitled to their property and prosperity
i can see their perspective, sadly. a lot of POC communties and a lot of rappers come from poor areas so the community feels entitled to the riches when one of "their own" makes it@@rebeccaconlon9743
No! HE KNEW THE TRUTH OF HIS OWN PEOPLE!!! He HAD faith that they would continue to be what they have ALWAYS been everywhere! A BURDEN, and corrupt and violent BURDEN on all around them! STOP making excuses and recognize reality! That Nigerian did! Why won't you?
I don't think you understand what he is saying.@@1950Archangel
That sounds like what some people are trying to push in the USA. Instead of telling young people to work hard and possibly start their own business, they're being told to blame the wealthy for their problems and that it's the fault of the business owners that they can't succeed.
britan was a Roman colony, the USA was also a British colony, Canada, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Colombia, California, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina... All colonies. So just being a colony isn't the reason. The people and how they reacted to it are the reason..if Africa was left alone, it would still look the same. People need to build their own countries and work together. That just doesn't happen in Africa.
"britan was a Roman colony, the USA was also a British colony, Canada, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Colombia, California, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina... All colonies."
The one thing in common here is that the areas you named arent continents.
Most of these areas also werent rich in specific, natural resources, which Europeans went after like what took place in Africa.
"if Africa was left alone, it would still look the same."
Thats not true. The video even names a country that has broken records for its economic growth.
"People need to build their own countries and work together. That just doesn't happen in Africa."
Again, not true.
Africa is a continent, with many countries and there are countries that are stable and financially well off.
@@derekcash3608 Have you seen that documentary about a Chinese railroad manufacturer sending a representative to some African country to coordinate with their local representative for the project? It quickly turns into a comedy, with the Chinese guy just complaining about how much Africa and the people there suck and how that makes it hard to do rail work there.
@@arspsychologia4401 "Have you seen that documentary about..."
It sounds like your point is that a representative, for a Chinese, railroad manufacturer, complained about the entire continent of Africa, after dealing with the representatives of an African country.
You shared this with me because of my post. So what does that have to do with my point that there are many stable and financially secure countries in Africa?
@derekcash3608 My reason for bringing it up is he makes good points. As for "stable and financially secure", lots of terrible places meet those requirements depending on the definition you use; you didn't say whether it was a good place to live. Also, including countries that border the Mediterranean counts as cheating, they generally don't consider themselves African and have a very different history.
I love it how throughout all the comments there are so many apologists trying to rationalize the across-the-board failure of Africans to govern themselves, be productive and work together to do so.
Look at the former Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Before independence Rhodesia was the largest food exporter in Africa. After independence, Mugabe expelled all the white farmers and nationalized their farms ... which were then neglected, vandalized, looted and left to turn to brush. All the white farmers fled to South Africa and now Zimbabwe imports 95% of its food ... from the very farmers they expelled.
I think there is something lacking in the character of Sub-Saharan blacks which hinders their abilities. Now the unofficial campaign slogan of the South African ANC is "kill the whites." So drive all farmers from Africa and STARVE????
Black political policy seems to be a bit backward.
By the way, name ONE invention by a black person in Sub-Saharan Africa which is used around the world daily as part of our modern repertoire of comfort and delicacies. Get back to me when you find it.
Some years ago in Kampala I chaired a meeting of the cabinet of the Kingdom of Buganda. They identified themselves as having lack of discipline on four fronts: with time, with money, with correspondence, and with sex. This was Ugandans talking about themselves. I suggest this is representative of the entire African continent.
It’s always good to get this type of information in why Africa is the way it is in just 3 minutes. As someone that has spent decades studying Africa i can tell you that just listening to some guy on UA-cam is the correct way to go especially if you want to learn absolutely nothing!
Having worked as an engineer in Africa I can honestly say that the reason Africa is in a mess is far simpler. It is that too many are lazy.
There is a video on here called, 'Empire Of Dust' that is a perfect example of what you say. Widespread corruption doesn't help either.
Buddy, you are my man! I was about to write this exact comment except that at the end of Empire of Dust I was feeling sorry for the poor Chinese guy who was having to put up with all of the stupid locals - and they were all genuinely stupid.@@secondchance6603
🎯🎯🎯I work with blacks and you’re right!
Yes, you worked the whole continent to make that statement…
Maybe you could explain what I said that upset you.@@Lion-O-Richie2040
I'm South African, in our case corruption that's entrenched in almost every facet of society, the economy, the government, etc, is the main culprit. However, it doesn't stop there, there's also the mindset of Africa to look towards the past, there's very little planning for the distant future, colonialism is still blamed for almost everything. I have yet to hear an African politician say:"I was wrong, I made bad choices." African politicians don't lead, they "mislead". Also the tribalism that's still to this day very much part of most of the continent. Even when the African electorate get the chance at free and fair elections, they somehow mostly elect the worst of a bad lot. Those Africans who reach the pinnacle of their trade, often as medical professionals, engineers, etc,are simply so disillusioned with a hopeless situation, they leave for Europe or America where they don't have to be under the yoke of stupid politicians, but have the freedom to reach full potential. Finally, if colonialism was so at fault why is Liberia and Ethiopia, both never colonized, no better off, why is Haiti, not on the continent of Africa, but about 99% descendents of African slaves, independent for almost 200 years, now a failed state and also the poorest country in the Western hemisphere?
Ek het jare gelede (voor 1990) getrek, want ek kon die huidige k*khoop sien kom. Baie mense wou my nie glo nie. "The yoke of stupid politicians" het toeka se dae al onder die NP Broeders bestaan, so dis nie uitsluitlik 'n rasse-oorsprong nie; maar ek stem saam dat daar 'n beduidende genetiese komponent in die brousel is.
They may leave for Europe, but there is nobody who waits for them in Europe. WIth antiimmigrant politics raising across Europe is bad choice.
You should probably look into the history of Haiti before speaking of the country, you should also look at Ethopia's history too, just at a basic level because it's pretty obvious why those two countries would struggle. It's almost as if you have no fucking clue what you're talking about.
It looks like "narcissism" is rampant in the black populations of Africa!! Such folk have poor family relations & poor friendships, poor work-mates, poor community relationships, the list goes on &on!!
Well said 🙌🏾
What is the average IQ in Singapore?
What is the average IQ in Botswana?
Cheers! ☮
My dad is building warehouses and stuff in Austria. Once he was at a potential new customers production facility, and weirdly enough they where printing phone-prepaid cards for Nigeria, if i remember right. Not even prepaid-cards sold in Austria are made here cause its way cheaper to produce them in other places. Turns out the owner of the company got in contact with some government-official , invited him and his family to Vienna for a Week or so and gave them company credit cards to buy whatever they wanted, so they gave him the business despite for sure not being the cheapest option
I always just assumed it was rampant corruption (aggravated by poor climate in large chunks of the continent)...and that 'colonialism' was used as an excuse to deflect accountability!
The ANC government to this day, nearly 30 years later, still blame the apartheid government in South Africa for the country's current troubles. They're as corrupt as they come.
Than y don’t u leave those countries alone today and give back the trillions that was stolen
@@DM-ur8vc do u actually want to learn? I can send u video and again Africa is a massive extremely diverse continent and labor, resources that are stole by big multinationals corporations, and how many Africa leaders to try to improve there country were take out or there country was destabilized and no they have had full sovereignty. Like right now the west is committed a gec8coide in the Congo for its mineral L’s by funding warlords and India isnt become a powerhouse and gdp doenst mean, ur just a brainwashed bot. If ur genuine and want to learn let me know
@@DM-ur8vc ofcourse it's the africa's fault. Corrupt african leaders has nothing to do with the european states whos supporting them to keep them in power. Or french companies that messed up with african countries and support and finance countless coups and civil wars.
@@DM-ur8vcLol India is not becoming a powerhouse, it just enjoys the "Nigeria effect" where having a large population results in you having a larger GDP hence a larger military and a larger investment ability than others making you appear "great" while in reality almost all of your population is dirt poor and miserable with corrupt government officials holding all the money. GDP per capita & HDI are much better indicators of success, otherwise fools would think India is more prosperous than the UK by relying on GDP. India like Africa and unlike Singapore were brutally colonized and looted of their resources and they still suffer from that today including tribal conflicts, bad climate and corruption all indirectly as a results of colonialism and the borders Colonialists drew around warring tribes. Tiny Singapore's colonialism was very mild by comparison.
I have lived in three African countries. Two reason I have found why Africa is so poor is: 1. Extensive and generational corruption. The rare earth minerals and oil revenue only goes to a few politicians, not to further educational needs or infrastructure. 2. The government is heavily multi-layered, bureaucratic and excessive regulations (to pay people in the middle along the processes). Great video by the way.
1. How come these politicians keep getting upheld? Because it is in the best interest of western nations that they stay in power, they sell cheaply the resources to western countries, that’s why western countries can remain rich, they take advantage of developing countries, cheap labour and resources and bad regulations in those countries. which leads to 2. Africa is very much short of regulations, unsafe working conditions, child labour, unfair wages, and therefore exploitation by some of the west’s companies, leading to unequal exchange between the west and Africa. Keeping Africa poor and the west rich, colonialism has ended, yet neo-colonialism is still ongoing.
1. How come these politicians keep getting upheld?
Ans: Starving and Uneducated populations are very gullible and don't make good revolutionaries. Their corrupt candidates/politicians can easily appeal to their prejudices by saying "colonialism is the reason why everyone is poor" despite ending long ago and they will believe it and vote for them. Basically just letting the crowd hear what they want to hear.
2. Africa being deprived of justice is very much still their own fault. With leaders always being corrupt and uncaring, it makes sense that foreign companies will exploit any legal gaps and resort to bribery for financial gain.
1. The only difference between Africa and Singapore is that Singapore has virtually no natural resources, hmmm ...
2. What about how France continues to hold the money of its "former" colonies and charge them interest on the money when they request it.
3. Also remember Singapore has English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil as official languages - Africa has over 3000. Alot of the problems Africa faces is due to corruption, but also look at how many of the corrupt regimes are funded by foreign interest.
It is colonialism
The United States was once a colony. If you go far back enough England was a colony of the Roman Empire. Your past doesn’t determine your future. The present does.
You seem to think "colony" always means the same thing.
The US was never a colony in that sense. We were colonizers from the beginning. Our relationship to England was that of a territory, not that of a subjected people.
@@kenlewis2253… by definition we were a subjected people, subjects to the crown and it’s tyrannies
Weird stretch
@@kenlewis2253 USA is a bunch of several colonies that evolved over time.
Even the indians immigrated form Asia.
Imagine a world where intellectual giants like Thomas Sowell were revered as much as fraudulent grifters like Ibram X. Kendi.
True. Sadly most Africans never heard of Sowell, Hayek, Friedman etc. Africa is full of Marxist ideologs like Che Guevara, Lenin, Mao etc. The late George B Ayittey was a good one too
Never going to happen. People like fraudsters too much. They like their biases confirmed, especially if it's by a hate filled fraudster.
The problem with Sowell is that he speaks far too much truth and is far too logical. He needs to start making shit up, then he will be revered like Ibram...
Thomas Sowell is a major reason race cannot be as the only reason for the failures.
Sowell is an anomaly. Africa has too many natives and not enough capable chiefs. A few anomalies can't make everything happen.
@@frosty3693 Exceptions to the rule do not disprove the rule.
The amount of crime and corruption in Africa is unreal. Had a friend who went to Africa as part of a cultural exchange. When they landed at the airport the security guards would not let them through unless they paid the equivalent of £100 per person for the “legal entry fee” they did pay the money but if it had been me I’d have just got the plane back home…
I watched the true movie "The boy who harnessed the Wind", about a young boy in Africa who lived in a small drought stricken village, found a book about windmills for pumping water and set about building a ricketty one. I assumed it was set back in the 30's or so, then at one point they were all huddled around a radio and 9/11 was being announced. So HOLY CRAP, it's 2001 and nobody knows about windmills??? They made him out to be Einstein and he ended up getting accepted into a prestigious US university. If they can't even overcome their water issues to that degree, I'm not sure WHAT chance they have.
I have worked long periods in Tanzania. You skipped the biggest issue: CORRUPTION. I can tell you many stories of people wanting bribes just to do their job. It is rampant throughout the country especially within the politicians, polices, and even in places like ticket counters at the airport. There are many good people in Africa, but in my experience many in positions of power expect you to pay some sort of fee for transactions to go smoothly.
I wouldn't consider them good if they do nothing about the corruption. He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer. If the supposed good people do nothing about corruption then they're complacent in the corruption.
Corruption is a natural by product or Marxism.
My neighbour worked in many African countries and his company had to give him a literal 'get out of jail free' card. An unlimited credit card to use at the airport, when they wanted their bribe to let him leave. No thank you, I'll take my business elsewhere.
@@Law19157the corrupt ones have the guns....
How much aid does Africa get each year?
Maybe if the free hand outs stopped people would have incentive to work.
Probably the best thing for Africa is trade, not aid. Getting rid of Marxist ideas and practices would have to be implemented first.
Yes, this is what psychologists call "learned helplessness" and dependency on Foreign Aid has made this far worse!
Would make zero difference.
Many local industries cannot achieve economic take-off when they have to compete against the *"free"* imports of (well-intentioned?) foreign "aid".
They do work, not all but some. Bit they're exploited. If they didn't work, explain how they Jane a high rate of child labour. Look at chocolate industry, 90% of worlds cocoa comes from Togo, Ghana & ivory Coast, go through so the steps to get chocolate. It's as intensive labour as those harvesting herbs in India or olives in the Mediterranean, but why do olive farmers make more than cocoa garnets, it's not that they aren't working hard. They're working for less money
Thank you all. I learn so much from both the videos and well traveled, well read, and educated commentors.
I ve always said that...as Africans we are most responsible for everything
Partly true. When Mali and Burkina Faso stood up and try to fix their condition, how many threats came from outside to try to sabotage their effort? Know what you’re talking about
@@Oyzatt Bro this comment section's got me in stitches 🤣, they are parading the most racist white supremacists logic I thought we abandoned in the 1800's, everybody knows every African leader who ever tried to uplift a African nation was systemically assassinated by Economic hitman and the C.I.A, these countries were also forced to pay a colonial tax that has kept those nations on their knees for over 60 years, those West African states you mentioned are starting now to fully cut ties with their colonial masters, this entire video was funny to watch
@@Oyzatt Take your own advice
@@jaimeosbourn3616 you think thats not what happened?
@@ChiangKaiShek-qj5zg you think it is?
It is the culture of laziness. I remember reading after the apartheid they were given giant farms and giant mines. What did they do? They sold off the equipment. This is just one of many examples.
Bullshit. Or rather two: 1st one is "culture of laziness", 2nd one is "they" (there is no monolithic "they"). How do I know it? Because exact same thing happened during the transformation to capitalism in many former Warsaw Pact countries:
Elites/thieves (basically synonyms) sold for scrap a lot of what was "privaticized" (read as: stolen from the people). Every rapid change of sociopolitical system is great opportunity for thieves and bad time for hard workers. Meanwhile, Polish workers are and were known all over western/northern Europe as anything but lazy.
This is a lie, it's racist and you know it. Africans are the most hardworking people you'll ever meet. Despite slavery being bad even the slave owners preferred Africans becoz they were more hardworking and more tolerant to hard conditions. This was literally quoted during the Civil war in America by the Confederates. After the Apartheid the South African's were forced to do it. In order to get their freedom they would have compensate the settlers, selling the euipments was a better option. Do you really think the boers just left like that with zero strings attached? Failure to do this would have led to sanctions or Political interference. Let me give examples in 1825 France forced Haiti to pay150 million francs for colonialism. In 1987 France aided a Coup against Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso for failing to agree to their Terms and Conditions of Colonial Compensation. In 1961 the CIA (USA) & the Belgium gov't aided a Televised humiliating assassination against Patrice Lumumba of DRC Congo(It's even here on UA-cam) for being an ally of the Soviets and refusing to terms and conditions for colonial compensation. You may not know this but Many African countries were forced to pay their colonial masters for colonialism in order to get their 'Freedom' despite having fought it. Besides, Selling off the equipment was a wise decision especially for uneducated people. FYI Most Africans were uneducated at the time of their Independence. What do you expect uneducated person to do with something they don't have skills to operate? They also inherited nukes and preferred to disarm it rather than toy with something so dangerous they didn't understand.
@@randomnobodovsky3692
The original commenter is right; it's a culture of laziness.
They'd rather steal than actually put some effort in and take some responsibility.
It's the same story the world over.
@@thealienwatcher540😂😂
@@randomnobodovsky3692
I stand by what I said. This is from anecdotal evidence as well as my first hand accounts. Not all but the mass majority is lazy. Same thing happened in Rhodesia. They didn’t want to farm for profit only to farm for their family. Now they are begging for white farmers to come back.
While colonialism and neocolonialism may play a role, I wouldn't attribute more than 5% of the blame for impeding growth in Africa to these historical factors. The primary impediment is the pursuit of Marxist ideologies that prioritize the state at the expense of the people. Even in countries that didn't fully embrace Marxist ideology, such as my native Kenya, the inclination has often been to establish a "strong" head of state who frequently rewards his loyalists and tribal affiliates to maintain power. This has led to the prevalent issue of crony capitalism, which has plagued Kenya since gaining independence. When you couple this with the absence of robust institutions, such as a reliable judicial system to ensure checks and balances and protect property rights for ordinary citizens, the consequences are dire. In Nairobi, for instance, one can purchase a piece of land today, only to face eviction within 5-10 years due to fraudulent sales practices.
Another challenge that afflicts Africa is the Keynesian approach to economics. According to this theory, governments allocate substantial resources to infrastructure projects to stimulate job creation. However, this often results in increased borrowing, and when governments cannot secure loans, they resort to imposing taxes on already financially strained citizens. In Kenya today, the government has enacted numerous tax laws to fund their so-called "Affordable Housing" and "Affordable Healthcare" initiatives. The majority of Kenyans are struggling, and many businesses are either recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic or have shut down. I pose the question to my fellow citizens: "Why should you place your trust in a government that has mismanaged funds since gaining independence, especially concerning critical aspects of your life?" More taxation leads to greater regulation, which, in turn, expands the government and results in more tax officials harassing ordinary people to enforce outdated tax and regulatory laws. In some instances, starting a business necessitates obtaining over 15 permits from various government agencies, a process that can take years and often involves paying bribes. An expanded government typically correlates with increased corruption.
The solution, therefore, lies in the hands of a wise and courageous leader who will undertake significant government downsizing. A country can efficiently function with no more than 5-6 core ministries, focusing on Security, Infrastructure, Commerce, Education, and Transport, along with any other essential areas. The excessive number of agencies and inefficient committees should also be eliminated. This approach will reduce the government's reliance on heavy taxation. Lower taxes translate into more financial freedom for both corporations and everyday citizens, enabling them to take calculated risks in the economy. Lower taxes can, in turn, lead to increased job opportunities and higher wages. While I acknowledge that the situation is not this simple, it represents a strong starting point. I strongly encourage everyone to explore the works of intellectual giants like , either through their writings or video presentations, as they offer valuable insights into economic and governance principles
Authoritarianism is not a component of Marxism.
@@evilsharkey8954 Mao Zedong, Vladmir Lenin, Fidel Castro, Robert Mugabe, Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, Joseph Stalin, Kim Il-sung, Kim Il-sung, Che Guevara, Mengistu Haile Mariam (They all had one thing in common). There regimes and atrocities are well documented.
@@Mr94Jr Che Guevara was never a head of state. There are plenty of capitalist tyrants, too. Benito Mussolini and Pinochet being well known. Vladimir Putin is a modern one. China’s government today is extremely oppressive even as the economic system has become more capitalistic (all the strongest economies are a mix of socialism and capitalism in differing ratios).
I saw a TED talk from a former member of the Canadian version of the Peace Corps. They installed a fresh water system in a small village in Africa. When they showed the locals how it worked, they already knew because it was exactly the same as the one the Peace Corps had installed years ago. It had failed due to the lack of technology to maintain it. Throwing money and effort at a problem does nothing if there is no thought to making it sustainable.
Africa would not even know they sit on rare gems were it not for colonialism.
The kingdom of mali, empire of Ghana, kingdom of Kongo, Nubia and Egypt would beg to differ.
I've never been to Africa, but have a friend who has worked there for a long time. He had an interesting take on it, saying that it's because there are no winters in Africa. So people don't have to prepare food in advance for the long, hard winters like ethnic groups in the northern hemisphere do, which leads to a less future-oriented African culture, and he told me privately that he thought the "lack of winter stress" led to the fact that African people are generally a little less hard-working than their Asian counterparts. I don't know if it was politically correct for him to say that, I'm just relaying an opinion.
I have lived there and it is true!! Also they are governed, very badly, by absolute thieves who steal as much as possible because they know they will soon be replaced by a new bunch of thieves.
😃😃😃😃😃😃😃Yeah, that's the answer.
so you are basically saying that european people and asian people are the peak of humanity in terms of genetics cause their survival mode had been activated because of winter?
@@eastbow6053 Uh, that's too hard to answer. I just thought it was interesting what that friend said, he said that this is the reason why, in general, the northern hemisphere is a bit more developed than the southern hemisphere (South Africa and Australia, and even South America, which was founded mainly by European immigrants)
@@eastbow6053 Pretty sure he said nothing about genetics and was relaying a comment about culture stemming from environmental factors. I don't know if you know this, but culture has nothing to do with genetics.
Kudos to Sowell, he's been saying this for years and kudos for you giving him credit.
As a long-time devout follower of St. Sowell [I say that for humor, but mean it from the bottom of my heart], I would remind folks that Sowell repeatedly shines a light on the real culprit in most social failures: CULTURE, not race. Someone earlier in this thread posted that [Africans] "lack nothing but good leadership." I disagree. They also appear to lack the will to fight AND DIE to overthrow the corrupt leaders responsible for such poverty, generation after generation. That, too, comes down to culture, and it's not unique to the nations of Africa. If you are unwilling to die for freedom, you will probably not enjoy it - for long. Trust me... tyrants are pressing that very issue, here and now, in America. I suspect it won't be long before we are forced to learn whether we still have the will to maintain our freedom, as well.
For once that I disagree with Sowell,but you think he is right about geography being the reason..I know that low average IQ is the actual reason because I ,unlike Sowell ,am not black and I am not biased towards my own race...of course I can admit that northern asians have higher average IQ than whites?
@@atlanteumA man once said, "Give me liberty or GIVE ME DEATH."
The "people" who live there.
Corruption, a lack of both basic transport and banking systems, ingrained political instability, and an international reputation for dishonesty spring to mind.
A common theme for all poor countries: blame someone else for their “backwardness”. No matter if this happened 50, 100 or 400 years ago.
A common theme for a successful countries- self reliance, responsibility, initiative and hard work! What a unique concept!
Not just countries, poor regions of countries.
@@cambs0181 not just countries, but people.
South Africa is under new management since 1994 and they STILL blame the whites for their failures.... they can't own up to anything.
@@McCaroni_SupRaces perhaps
@@life_is_a_myth Specifically the shades that tend to live in high crime neighborhoods, but I digress. Truly, they fail to come to the conclusion that it is their own depraved culture holding them back from greatness.
It is always easier and convenient to blame someone else for one's shortcomings .
It's called scape goat, be it a minority or a historical event.
I’m an African, and I can tell you that the reason our continent is still poor till date is because of the Europeans countries and America, that relentlessly keep stealing resources from the continent.
They don’t only steal resources, they put in place corrupt leaders that do their bidding for them
Corruption, Short term views, laziness, very poor leaders, no resect for the law, voters vote for traditional leaders not quality leaders, no desire to improve and maintain, poor incompetent public service, like to play the blaming game for incompetence etc etc.
They need a strong leader much like Lee Kwan Yew to lead them out of poverty, unite the people and get rid of corruption. Look at Rwanda, Paul Kagame is doing a great job managing his country, turning it from a war-torn country into a "Singapore of Africa' state.
My thoughts are that rampant corruption, inter-tribal and inter-religious strife are some of the main problems that hold Africa back. As a Singaporean, our government especially cracks down on these 3 problem areas.
Agree, tribalism is a huge factor in Africa
Singapore did a great job at managing interracial conflicts
When I was in Zimbabwe 25 years ago, it was called the Switzerland of Africa. Mugabe's govt had done a good job promoting stability and providing better services for Zimbabweans. A couple of years later, Mugabe ruined the country.
I asked a professor there why Zimbabwe was so much more prosperous than other post-colonial African countries. Without hesitating, she said it was because Zimbabwe kept its Whites. As a White American talking to a Black woman, I was perplexed and somewhat embarrassed. But later I understood, and it had nothing to do with racial or cultural superiority. The large commercial farms in Zimbabwe were owned by Whites, who sold much of what they produced to Europe. The farms were highly profitable and they paid income taxes to Zimbabwe. After Mugabe later ran the Whites out and divided their farms up amongst veterans, each farm was big enough only for subsistence farming or commercial farming at a small scale. Without the big commercial farms, the tax revenue was gone. The eventual result was famine.
Interesting take, but I saw a documentary around here about Zimbabwe and its failure: it was mainly about corruption and incompetence.
It has everything to do with racial thus cultural superiority of Whites.
@@dv8ug I highly believe that your ancestors were mostly peasants who lived in poor conditions and didn't know how to write or read. I remind you that the majority of White population had been going through "White slavery" like feudalism, until 1789, and serfdom, until 1861 (which is relatively young for human history). And also, the race doesn't equate the culture. Western Europe and Eastern Europe aren't that much different in genetics, but they're not equal in culture. I'm telling you that as an Eastern European. Cope harder, "superior"😂
The only wealth any nation really has can be measured by the level of trust ordinary people show in their ordinary interactions with others.
I am from Zimbabwe and the best theory I have heard also explains why these places stay with marxist dictatorships. As you said in the video, Singapore has no natural resources. Africa actually has a lot of natural resources. This is why it was attractive to the colonists, they could go in and extract resources. Those resources are still being extracted today. However, when the value of the land is the resources and they can be extracted by just a small percentage of the population, the majority of the population stays very poor. For instance, if your nation has a lot of diamonds, whoever controls the diamond production can employ a small percentage of the population and keep the vast majority of the profit for themselves. They use some of that money to control the country and keep things stable for their diamond production and don't care about anything else. Marxism is just the easiest way to control the rest of the country and it only uses a small portion of the diamond profits. However, if a country doesn't have that sort of concentrated resource, the majority of the population needs to be involved in the economy and there is no concentration of wealth that is strong enough to enable a tyrant or pay for the marxism. For instance, if your economy is based on trade or farming or manufacturing or tech, you need all/most the people involved to ramp up production for max profit.
Totogara mu Zimbabwe wangu, China is now exploiting us our lithium can we blame it ? No its our government that is corrupt that get money for themselves and not for the country, they allow it to happen
It has nothing to do with Marxism, like you even know what that word means. Singapore is a geographically strategic point, and it's within extremely close proximity to other financial centers and serves as a major trade route. No one is passing through Kigali the same way they're passing through Singapore. Countries need investors, and if African countries started using more productive means of obtaining resources like diamonds, that would ruin the global economy. Keeping Africa poor and underdeveloped keeping prices down while maintaining profits for shareholders.
One reason? Corruption. Period. That simple.
also known as "Democracy"
The African mindset is so back dated.
I remember about a water pump being installed by a charity for a village. When the charity finished and went away the village leader dismantled the pump and sold the metal for money.
That is just so wrong on so many levels. I'm sure it would have HELPED his own family members if he gave it just two seconds of thought.
Poverty requires no explanation. It is the default state in nature. Wealth and abundance on the other hand can often be trivially explained by pointing to the biggest most obvious cash cow in some place. "Why is Norway rich?", "Why is Saudi Arabia rich?", "Why is Monaco rich?", "Why is Switzerland rich?".
But once you start asking "what caused Niger to be poor?" (or Liberia, or Lesotho, or Mali, or Mozambique, or Chad, or either Congo, etc.), you will find that there are at least a dozen different answers and that, in the counterfactual where none of those 12 things happened, the country would probably still be pretty darn poor all the same.
In parts of Africa right now there is a rush for rare earth minerals, particularly in the Congo for cobalt. You have probably heard about the exportation of child laborers in the awful, privative mines there. You know about 'blood diamonds' it is like that only worse. Why is it like that? It is because the Africans who are normally in control of the situation prefere to send [I mean exploit] children to labor in the cobalt mines rather than pay for a bulldozer to do the same job. Cruel but true, in Africa the lives of children are so cheap that only white people on distant continents actually care about them.
They knock out far too many kids.
The "Out of Africa" theory of the so-called "Ascent of man" most likely refers to getting the hell out of there to have a better life.
If they care so much, maybe they should stop getting a new cell phone every year; which increases the demand for these minerals and metals.
@@jillsipocz3582 Well. I've had my Samsung A50 for about seven years now and if i do eventually need to replace it. I will recycle it.
@@jillsipocz3582Your stupid take, because cobalt is only essential to the manufacture of LiCoO batteries. LiFePO4 batteries are an alternative. Blame the manufacturers and not the users. As a fabricator, I don't use cobalt, tantalum and other elements that only can be found in Africa.
Its not colonialism, its lack of colonialism that's the problem.
True Dat Bro
This neglects the biggest factor of Africa's poverty, and it DOES have to do with it's colonial history: global capitalism. The wealthy western nations hold Africa (and the whole global south for that matter) in a constant imperial grasp, while extracting all its natural resources without compensating Africa for it (go research unequal exchange between the west and the rest of the world). Every time a nation tries to break free of this imperial capitalist hold, the western nations, particularly the US, instantly responds by either straight up invading it (like the Middle East) or via CIA-backed coups that install US-friendly dictatorships. Capitalism is, al always, the biggest enemy of not only Africa, but the whole world
...average IQ rates a possible factor?...
you are rasist
What i see people do alot is make africa sound like one country, when they make their arguments for colonialism. Africa is huge with many rival tribes, resources as the video says. Different races between location to location. Internal fighting in some places, enslaving each other in other places, values and societal structures differ from place to place.
Political fractiousness, coups d'etat, dictatorships, massive corruption, entrenched foreign companies have also not helped, I would say.
Nailed it
Those are all results of a cause. What do you think is the cause?
@@jfkst1 Hmm. Methinks you have an agenda, here. Each of these could be causes for any of the others. I think you are trying to find or hang everything off of some "original" cause. I don't think you can pin this or any of this on colonialism.
For instance, you do know, don't you, that African slavery started in Africa long before any European was involved. One of the richest men in the world was an East Coast African who enslaved/sold fellow Africans. Slavery still exists in Africa and not because of any legacy of Europeans being involved.
@@walkingstick6655
My agenda is the truth. The truth is that genetics is a long transformation process that will not be altered in our lifetimes.
@@jfkst1 Oh. boy. Genetics. So, let me guess...you're saying all the ills of Africa are because of the genetics of Africans?
As my grandfather (born 1894) used to say, “poor people have poor ways.”
And poor diets
Culture and the brain power of certain people.
Absolutely brilliant to make the comparison with Singapore, I've made that argument so often but few here in Bloemfontein seem to want to understand.
Kleptocraticy our main reason here in South Africa, Botswana is an example our corrupt rulers don't want to emulate.
Singapore, Hong Kong, Grande Caymen, Bermuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, the UAE to name a few more. Ironically wherever the Europeans (Anglo world) colonized and stayed a paradise was created. Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
are you a white person in south africa ? i have the feeling you would do beter to get out of there
When the British colonised Singapore, it was established specifically to be a trading hub for East Asia and attracted like-minded people of many nationalities to take advantage of that. Africa is not that thing. The analogy is not a good one.
@@anthonymorris5084, absolutely true, anglosaxon's are just the best people in this world. Wouldn't it be great if the angels of democracy instead of just invading would've colonized Iraq, Lybia, Guatemala, Afghanistan, Vietnam and dozens of other countries and built a paradise there?
US - robs and keeps at bay the entire world while mutilating their own children on a government level
Canada - saluting nazi in a parlament
Australia - filled with kangaroos who only wait for a right moment to kick a human's ass
Ok, truth be told - kangaroos are not the eurpean's fault.
By the way - how Singapore is a good example of building a paradise by colonizers if it started to flourish after leaving the British empire? Was Lee Kuan Yew british agent or something? Did he implement the so-called european value? As far as I know by the european standards he was a dictator.
@@ShanghaiRooster I'm referring specifically about South Africa and the same reason different nationalities were brought to Singapore to exploit your location the same reason applies to exploit our resources.
The make up of our population makes that clear.
The British started work on the Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt railway. If finished it would have been the largest and most important railway of Africa, but thanks to the Great Depression and Decolonisation it was never finished. That would've been very helpful to overcome the geographical challenges, connect the continent top to bottom.
@ilikethiskindatube - That sounds awesome - thanks for that! I had never heard of that railway project!
I knew of the railway that was built through the Sudan in the late 1890s for Kitchener's forces fighting the Mahdi.
The Cape Town to Cairo railway would have been like the railways across Canada and the US.
Both of those allowed development across vast distances.
And then the Africans would have done what they ALWAYS do! Steal and sell the metal of the tracks so the trains derail, and then steal everything off the rail cars. THEY STILL DO IT TODAY!! Will you not recognize reality?
Just see what the Britishers did to Hong Kong...I am pretty sure they would have developed at least 3-4 Hong Kong's in Africa!
They could have it finished by themselves. No one was keeping them.
@@ram1011Impossible because of the people.
The greatest natural resource is creative intelligence.
Am African and I can confirm that its not colonialism. Its politics and leadership
Don't forget the colonizing that happened before Europeans. Also many African countries went the way of socialism due to the cold war and the influence of the soviet union.
So did the moslem countries. Turkey, Iran, and Qatar, are heavily and openly socialist. The moslem world also practiced piracy long after it was banned by Christian Europe. Thomas Jefferson ended the arab pirates marauding and stealing from American and European ships with our colonial navy. When Jefferson asked the barbery pirate leader 'why do you do this to Americans, we have no legacy in the middle east' , he said 'islam gives us the right to dominate infidels (non-moslems)'
Yes, but that was not an issue, look at Libya, it went full on socialist, and yet they thrived, because they had a strong and capable leader. This is what Africa lacks, leadership.
Europe too was in a mess. Is not only Africa that was in tough times
I do business with several African countries. By and large, people who live there don't seem to think colonialism is the cause of their countries' ruin.
That’s reassuring. Then again, you are doing business with people who are gainfully employed. What have they got to complain about, right? Lol. Once somebody gets a good job or wins the lottery they stop complaining.
It's just like how here in the states, they blame all their self-inflicted problems on slavery. Perpetual victimhood and no personal responsibility.
The problem is that from a civilisation development point of view, Africa is at least 1000 years behind the West. There are some very difficult lessons that Europe had to learn in order for us to have the kind of society we have (or, at least, had up until 10 or so years ago, when the third world started imposing itself on our society). And if the West wasn't so concerned with erasing their own culture, we could could help Africa learn those same lessons without the millennia of violence Europe had to go through. We could help them set up agriculture and irrigation and water wells and schools and electricity. But instead we send all our money in the pockets of their warlords, while at home we're busy forgetting the lessons we learnt.
Really 1000 year behind?
Why not 2000 years?
And which Africa are you talking about?
Is Morocco 1000 years behind and South Africa 2000 years?
Or are you talking about Ethiopia and Senegal?
OOPS.
As most of the developing world, politicians are to blame, and the systems that perpetuate the cycle of corruption and ineficiency.
Never talk about Africa ever again.
Very insightful, also Thomas Sowell needs to be standard reading in the western world!
Both of them are saying non sense. I traveled through africa, eastern europe and asia. Hopefully i will visit south america soon.
And Yes. The global south is not poor or underdevelopped. Its overexploited still to this day.
If you think the colonizers left you are wrong!!!
You lie sir, even in Africa they will tell you that you can trust a white man close to always, a blackman you have to be careful with and the Asians you run from. This is spread through many many African nations. I think you simply have a bias to not like white people.
Look at the former Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Before independence Rhodesia was the largest food exporter in Africa. After independence, Mugabe expelled all the white farmers and nationalized their farms ... which were then neglected, vandalized, looted and left to turn to brush. All the white farmers fled to South Africa and now Zimbabwe imports 95% of its food ... from the very farmers they expelled.
I think there is something lacking in the character of Sub-Saharan blacks which hinders their abilities. Now the unofficial campaign slogan of the South African ANC is "kill the whites." So drive all farmers from Africa and STARVE????
Black political policy seems to be a bit backward.
By the way, name ONE invention by a black person in Sub-Saharan Africa which is used around the world daily as part of our modern repertoire of comfort and delicacies. Get back to me when you find it.
Sowell is a grifter
Did he talk about intelligence and how it relates to skill acquisition and planning?
Just a thought. Trade mostly takes place through sea or lake ports. Trade routes by land are often difficult to keep open in any continent. ( Thoughts inspired by Thomas Sowell) This has a bearing on countries in Africa. Economics
First of all, abject poverty is the default state of humanity. Asking, "Why Poor?" is the wrong question.
Look at the map of Africa now and during the height of colonialism. The names are all that has changed. Politically and economically the colonies went from having a European governor who enforced strict order and stole all the wealth to a native governor (president, king, emperor) who steals all the wealth and doesn't really give a damn about order.
Europeans were build roads, cities, hospitals, schools, wells and shitload of other things. It isn't "stealing all the wealth". Blacks did not have any wealth , they were wandering on a top of it but it is not theirs.
I agree with everything you said, but Colonialism really hasn't ended in Africa, it's more so hidden now. Plus like others said corruption.
Especially in French colonies
Colonialism did ended. if you are talking about interfering with local politics thats different story.
Look at the former Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Before independence Rhodesia was the largest food exporter in Africa. After independence, Mugabe expelled all the white farmers and nationalized their farms ... which were then neglected, vandalized, looted and left to turn to brush. All the white farmers fled to South Africa and now Zimbabwe imports 95% of its food ... from the very farmers they expelled.
I think there is something lacking in the character of Sub-Saharan blacks which hinders their abilities. Now the unofficial campaign slogan of the South African ANC is "kill the whites." So drive all farmers from Africa and STARVE????
Black political policy seems to be a bit backward.
By the way, name ONE invention by a black person in Sub-Saharan Africa which is used around the world daily as part of our modern repertoire of comfort and delicacies. Get back to me when you find it.
@@frontendprotogy6749neocolonialism is a thing. It’s not like it’s India or Russia interfering in politics. It’s very specific countries who seem to be consistent in their operations
It's corruption that makes interfering (it's not colonialism any more) possible.
A Kenyan family in town that I'm friends with, came here to the states in 1983. They began selling cheap trinkets & hand-made rugs on the streets of our city. Today they own 12 stores in our city (in lower Ohio) & are among the city's wealthiest & most popular, entrepreneurs. It didn't hurt them at all that they were also lovely people & good neighbors. The whole family, including their 2 little girls, worked their butts off from 6am to 10pm every day, to get where they are, but hard work, no matter where you come from, pays off in the long run. I'm proud to call the father of this family, my best friend. He & I are planning on taking a trip to Kenya next year, so he can show me his country, which he's extremely proud of.
How unusual for black people,these people are really the exception to the rule...
"Extremely proud of"
Yet he left it no? These "motivational" comments are always bullshits due to inconsistencies like this.
Are your Kenyan friends black or Asian?
Black, Kikuyu ethnicity. He's also Christian. His two-story brick house has a huge American flag with a smaller flag of Kenya beside it. @@philipalcock9867
Personally, admitting the possibility of err, being an outsider and only having worked there on a limited basis, I'm with the transportation problem as the largest contributor. To do anything at all, you must build a road first. 2nd: the distance from major manufacturing centers means you must take everything you need with you. 3rd: the same distance to markets. Markets in most African companies are often so small, they might have oil, but dont have enough of a market to support construction of a local refinery. Now you have to export it, refine it and bring it back. 4th: This is the most foreign idea to westerners in Africa. "Sharing" is not corruption. Its how the extended tribe survives. If the tribe survives, you survive. Everyone works for the benefit of the extended family and trubes. Hoarding wealth by one individual is not a sign of success. Actually its the worst social error you can commit. As for rich returning to Africa, they would be seen as trying to inject capitalist wealth hording ideas into a sharing tribal structure too. Not good.
Anyway that was my impression.
Outstanding. At last, someone taking up the message of Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell in concise, crisp, no nonsense presentation. Well done, Sergeant First Class Freitas.
My nation of Australia is a good comparison to Africa.
Australia has a legacy of colonialism
Australia has poor riverways and few major harbours for maritime trade, few major cities in general actually.
Geography isn't exactly in our favour no matter how you look at it actually.
Australia is a VERY successful country, regardless of how much our politicians try to make it otherwise.
Africa is the way it is because of Africans. If they chose to stop being corrupt, chose to invest wisely in their people, and chose to drop the tribal warfare that rages to this very day, they would likely become some of the richest people in human history. But Africans are gonna African, so don't ever hold your breath for that.
As another commenter pointed out, islam is a destructive force in Africa. It's going to damage Australia too, if you allow it to grow.
They're poor because they have too many babies. All other problems stem from that fact. Very few people will accept this though.
Illiteracy & semi-literacy is extremely rampant throughout black Africa 60 years after independence!!!
That doesnt make sense, Local people in Africa would love to end corruption, but when you have those in POWER who are corrupt then they make sure local people do not have a choice. Tribal warfare I am afraid is not a simple choice either, it is a mess that has never been solved. You cannot lump and blame whole people that way.
@@MrPurge11, is also black Africa has hundreds of local languages, an area rich in many, many languages & this can be & has been a problem, a super-multilingualism!!
Rhodesia was not poor until it became Zimbabwe. South Africa was not poor until 15 years ago. What do these 2 countries have in common?
It's cultural clearly...
@@jfkst1 AKA racial.
@@jfkst1 I would suggest it is African leadership. They fail to put money into infrastructure and the economy collapses.
"Africa specifically" Bro... How could Africa, a huge continent, be considered specifical compared to a single city like Singapore
Corruption and greed is the main reason why Africa is still poor
There are a few more examples: China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Bangladesh - all these countries have suffered greatly from colonialism, economic exploitation and the most brutal wars. Sixty years ago, they were so-called Third World countries. Today, many of them are leaders in the global economy. And why its Botswana doing so well? From my point of view all these countries have three things in common: they fight corruption very hardly, they guarantee an independent legal system with legal certainty for citizens, they take taxes seriously and invest these taxes foremost in education and health care. Corruption is the root for a downfall of a country. Always. Look at Russia.
China was colonized? By whom?
@@suddhadasi Germany, England, France, Portugal, Russia Pretty mutch every european power.
@@keesvankooten1092 really? China was colonized by all those countries? I lived on chinese border for years and never heard of it
„Look at Russia“ - what is there to see? Russia was in the 90s on the level of Congo and where is it now? Do you think Russians live that bad? Propaganda is strong with this one lol
China was forced to allow colonial powers into their country. If Yalu go to Shanghai today there’s the “French Quarter” which had been set aside for the French. Look into the opium trade and the influence Britain had on China. In all fairness, China was a mess in the 1800s thru mid 1900s but almost all of that was of their doing. Mao really screwed up that country….capitalism saved it!
Average IQ of a population plays a key role in the economic success of a country.
IQ is really important if your people need to survive long harsh winters.
″IQ is the single most important predictor of work success. It’s a very robust and very reliable predictor.” -- John Antonakis, psychologist at University of Lausanne
Is communism low IQ?
@@kobemopCommunsim is the result of deceit from the ruling class and acceptance by low IQ people. It is the biggest lie.
It's also important to have a good diet
Thank you for mentioning Thomas Sowell who has described everything you are saying already.
Genetics
Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya are rising stars.
They are not
@@matejamartin2199 When compared to Zimbabwe, the DR Congo, or Burundi, they are.
@@Anti-CornLawLeague yes, you compared ender worlds
Africa is china now shouldn't have sold them slaves 😢
Only because they are getting BILLIONS from china in investments . They could never do it on their own . They never have , never will.
Thanks. I didn't realize that the economies of 54 countries could be explained in less than 4 minutes.
I'm sorry, but this story is also a little bit too short. Colonialism had tremendous effects on many structures, leading to effects hard to measure and even think about today, it's called persistence and is well known to historians, especially for the ones doing history economics. I will name some examples:
- Institutions: Maybe you know the famous book "Why Nations Fail" - the authors are talking about the impact of Institutions on the economies. Dependent on the region, the institutions implemented by the colonial power were either inclusive/good (for settlers like in the US), or extractive. These extractive institutions were implemented to support a small elite governing and exploiting the other inhabitants. Schools were designed to promote only the 1% smartest children, which you can still see in African countries or India. After the colonial powers withdrew, the local elites took over / stayed in their role. They never had the incentives to change the system, since they are the ones profiting. Corruption is a consequence of bad institutions which not work.
- Trust: Economic activity is also about trust. Trust can be achieved by good institutions with the rule of law working (if you can not call the police if somebody is exploiting you in a business relationship, you will only trade with your dearest friends and relatives). But trust is also about the social structures. There is huge evidence that slavery had a big structural impact on trust since 20% of slaves were tricked by other Africans into slavery
- borders: The present borders were created during colonial times. They are parting ethnical groups and bringing ethnical groups together in systems / institutional frameworks that just don't work and promote hatred.
These are only a few reasons why corruption, hatred, and underdevelopment are linked to colonialism. It's a holistic picture, very complex, and not easy to approximate.
The United States was once a colony of the British Empire and it became the world’s greatest superpower
That even Britain itself is now dependent on for economic relevance.
Why is Africa Poor ?
Answer : Africa Consumes more than it Produces (name 1 product made in Africa that is international)
Cobalt , this very phone or laptop you're writting these comments with uses cobalt from Congo 🇨🇩, if you've got an electric car guess what, you're also using cobalt .
Palm oil.
@@elconsigliori9528I Said product not raw minerals for example African made Smartphone but instead we sell raw material cheap and buy finished products at an expensive price
@@quantasium I said Product not ra minerals and i never said we don't produce anything i said : we consume more than we produce almost all of your clothe and electronics are made in China , your skincare product are made in Germany or Poland , Your cars are mostly made in Germany ,or else where , Kenya's railway was built by China so until we can at least make half of the products we consume we will be POOR
@@MightyBlackPanther
any export has value for the buyer.
there is no reason to accept one and reject another.
certain countries just pump oil and are filty rich because of it.
others produce tiny chips. and so on.
the problem is if the citizens have their property protected and are encouraged to invent, work hard, etc to build a firm that produces something that many people want.
where marxist ideas take root, the property stops being protected and you get insane people writing books that glorify looting.
with the height of irony of asking people to NOT copy their books in said book first pages.
Thank you for telling more than one side of the story. I've been doing this for almost two decades.
This video appears first in UA-cam searching list. There’s a good reason for why is like that 😂😂
If it wasn't for Colonialism Africa would have been even worse off. Despite being given a tremendous boost through infrastructure development, judicial development, wealth development and education it lacks the ability to self develop and determine!
Africa already had wealthy kingdoms before colonialism. Europeans came to destroy everything.
@@EstaJeanette-nk7fj
Mostly slave empires.
I have long been researching this topic. The answer is surprising: it's the soil. Of course, this is just the START of the answer, the foundational difference, not the entirety of the answer. But nobody talks about the soil in Africa outside of a few specialists, so even the geographically minded explanations (like say Diamond's Guns Germs and Steel) don't really mention it.
But most of Africa has TERRIBLE soil for agriculture. Yeah, sure, obviously, the Sahara isn't anything to write home about. But the majority of the continent (outside Sahara/Sahel) is red clay soil - it's reddish because it has been leached and eroded of all nutrients except heavier metals like Fe or Al. You can find this in old Belgian texts about agriculture in the Congo. They had a hell of a time, with modern science, to get production going (it's easier if you have Europeans with massive plantations because they can keep importing fertilizers; usually, and in the case of Belgians, they looked to success stories like Northern Rhodesia). Otherwise you have to keep doing something called 'shifting cultivation' or 'slash-and-burn' agriculture. Belgians were still trying to solve this issue in 1950s and 1960 (when Independence came to Congo).
People think that since it's rainforest, and it's a vibrant ecosystem with lots of biomass, it must be very fertile - wrong. It's incredibly infertile (which is why deforestation in those areas is such a massive problem - you get wet deserts). The soil is very acidic, poor in nutrients, mechanically good but chemically laden with heavy metals (Al and Fe give it the reddish color). Natives had to come up with ingenious complex farming techniques, but even those can't help having to move around every 2-3 years.
This means you can't have massive population centers of the sort that jump started civilizations comparable to the Fertile Crescent, Egypt or China.
Luckily, solutions exist: terra preta indica (which was to a smaller extend maybe practiced in some places in Africa), or rather ordinary wood charcoal/biochar, which basically help deal with all of the aforementioned (and not mentioned) issues.
And yet before independence there were agricultural surpluses.
Well Eurasia is large so crops from one side can be transfered to other side. We need to develop certain crops to live in Africa that are different from the ones we use. Also Africa can use other forms of food like seaweed or importing food.
I am going to throw in my two cents worth since everybody else is.
Which countries and people that never developed a written language of their own succeeded?
I can't think of any. People that never developed a written language always seem to be stuck in time.
The truth you speak is often hidden in the way many people are desperate to include the Mediterranean countries that just happen to reside on the northern end of the vast African continent with the main continent which is sub-Saharan. When speaking of the woes of africa it's best to say "sub-Saharan" in front of it. You're right....they never got to developing writing or the wheel in SSA. Quite the opposite for Mediterranean nations!
Switzerland doesn't have its own language, just 3 of the countries it borders.
@@mardyroux8136 Ethiopia has a written language. There is a written language from Nigeria called insibidi. You are talking just because you can talk. Nothing you say makes any sense
@@EstaJeanette-nk7fj Insibidi is a proto-written language. It doesn't represent the written form of a spoken language. Ethiopia is not sub-Saharan.
@@mardyroux8136 as google for the list of subsaharan Africa countries. None of what you say even makes sense.
The whole story is... humanity has always required infrastructure.
The earliest forms of infrastructure were basic earthworks.
Removing rocks from a steam to make it more navigable dates back as early as 1100 BC.
Nobody ever told them this, or they just refused to do the hard labor that comes before you can trade more easily.
Maybe they had once long ago but after it got destroyed in a deluge that definitely happened, they were demoralized until they forgot about it completely.
If you can trade more easily, you will have more ideas flowing in and out of your country, enriching your culture, bolstering morality among your populace, and this all serves as a foundation to more progress in ways I can't do justice by covering in a comment.
Singapore recognized this during the early periods of colonialism.
Just to list three major ones...
Singapore River's Straightening and Deepening (1822): To improve navigation and enhance trade, the Singapore River was straightened and deepened in 1822.
Construction of Jackson's Bridge (1822): Jackson's Bridge, a vital infrastructure project, was built in 1822 to connect the northern and southern parts of Singapore, promoting better connectivity and trade.
Fort Fullerton (1829): Although primarily a military structure, the construction of Fort Fullerton in 1829 also had economic implications by providing security for trade activities in the region.
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Nobody wants to talk about it, but I'll put it here simply so my comment can get removed.
Asians adapted better to the authoritarian attitude of their "colonizers".
The guys who came over to Africa said, "ok, we are going to move this river", and the Africans said, "LOL, YOU are gonna do it, I'm gonna try and get you removed so I can be the ruler."
Colonizers being another name for all the rich and smart guys of the day who believed they could help a struggling nation's PEOPLE out... that's the key too. They were there to help the people, the government wasn't their concern most times, and just needed to stay out of their way less they make themselves look bad.
Therefore, the narrative that they "invaded" to colonize only exists because someone wanted power over that country, and they were an opportunist looking at more powerful nations as easy targets to label "aggressor".
Bringing me back to my rather blunt take... African countries did not.
Their people could never stop fighting with each other, and were more prone to violence over discussion.
They had more individuals who adopted opportunist and borderline pathological attitudes.
Africa is impoverish because too many decent people in the world got burned trying to catch them up, and because they sold their people willingly to slave trades for over 500 years. Their own people don't trust the governments that they put in place, and how could they, they definitely aren't going to trust an outside government. So it makes the situation that much more complex.
My advice to the rest of the world... don't invest where you can't walk down the street safely.
My main point was, "Don't blame their poor coastlinse and geography. That's a cop-out. It's a cultural issue."
The whole of Asia benefitted from European technology whilst also embracing western cultural ideals and government style, so even when the colonists left they still kept their practises and knowledge. African countries once colonialism left, pretty much shunned it and went back to the dark ages.
Illiteracy & semi-literacy seem to be an "eternal problem" throughout black Africa!!
As an extensive traveller and South African the answer is yes! Many Asian countries took what was best from Western world and made it work for them.
African don't care. They would rather rot in poverty than be affluent even by means of other influence. 😢
In fact, Europeans get blamed for everything wrong but must dish out the benefits and shut up.
Belief systems aren’t passed through DNA, but they are part of growing up in a certain area. The zeitgeist of a country is integral in how successful the country will be. The Germans lost WWII, but they were ready to accept a democracy because they had one before. Iraq lost Gulf War II, but weren’t ready for democracy right away. The Afghans still aren’t ready. This isn’t anything genetic, it’s a mindset of the populace of the time.
Those smart rich guys weren't trying to help anyone but themselves
South Africa under ANC has more than 20,000 murders annually.
Nice video. There is one mistake though. Remember that Singapore used to be a large market place which is why it is so rich