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We Need to Talk About Africa: The harm we have done, and how we should help
If you boil a kettle twice today, you will have used five times more electricity than a person in Mali uses in a whole year. How can that be possible?
Decades after the colonial powers withdrew Africa is still struggling to catch up with the rest of the world. When the same colonists withdrew from Asia there followed several decades of sustained and unprecedented growth throughout the continent. So what went wrong in Africa? And are we helping to fix it, or simply making matters worse?
In this provocative analysis, Tom Young argues that so much has been misplaced: our guilt, our policies, and our aid. Human rights have become a cover for imposing our values on others, our shiniest infrastructure projects have fuelled corruption and our interference in domestic politics has further entrenched conflict. Only by radically changing how we think about Africa can we escape this vicious cycle.
Decades after the colonial powers withdrew Africa is still struggling to catch up with the rest of the world. When the same colonists withdrew from Asia there followed several decades of sustained and unprecedented growth throughout the continent. So what went wrong in Africa? And are we helping to fix it, or simply making matters worse?
In this provocative analysis, Tom Young argues that so much has been misplaced: our guilt, our policies, and our aid. Human rights have become a cover for imposing our values on others, our shiniest infrastructure projects have fuelled corruption and our interference in domestic politics has further entrenched conflict. Only by radically changing how we think about Africa can we escape this vicious cycle.
226 pages, Paperback
Published April 7, 2020
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153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 14, 2023
DNF. The title should have been enough to put me off . 3 chapters in and I couldn’t read it anymore. What Africa does not need is another European man's , living in the global norths , opinion. Especially as that opinion is largely formed by reading more of the same. This is irrelevant ivory tower posturing with zero new information or perspective.
March 26, 2023
Very interesting thoughts, but difficult to read & understand...
December 27, 2023
Struggled with this slightly. A very interesting albeit quite difficult read at times. Certainly challenged my views on development, but not sure I agree with some of the core points.
May 31, 2023
Everyone should read this book
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews