Cry Africa

"Who are they that invade Africa, saying that they employ my sister. They were so presumptuous. Who dare them to say that. Cry blood Africa, cry blood. Cry Africa, cry blood."

The exploitative nature of capitalism functions on any scale. Workers are exploited by their employers and poor countries are kept poor by the exploitation by rich countries. If you think for a minute that it's a coincidence that the countries with the least amount of natural riches are in fact the world's richest countries, think again. The richest countries in the world, Europe and everywhere else where Europeans reside, have colonized those naturally rich countries and have never given up their stranglehold on them since; if you think colonialism is a thing of the past, again, think again. War is politics by other means, and economics is politics by other means; modern colonialism is practiced, not by means of invasion, arms or conquering, but by means of loans and trade agreements.

One can not cry about there being so much poverty in the world and in the meantime defend capitalism. The statement that capitalism is responsible for lifting peoples and countries out of poverty is empty and meaningless; exploiting the labor and resources of the less fortunate is the very basis of the system, and extreme wealth can not exist without extreme poverty. For all the praise and good words directed toward European countries and their solid social safety nets, it's wise to remember that those safety nets exist by the grace of the exploitation of third world countries. Africa is the continent that's been most severely disadvantaged by the colonial past and present. We'd rather not think about Africa or the nations that make up the continent. This is born out in the fact that we often speak about Africa as if it were one country; we forget that there are many different countries, peoples and cultures. Africa is like that family member or friend who never seems to be able to make ends meet and always comes asking for money; we get annoyed and bury them in the farthest corners of our minds.

When the World Bank and IMF grant loans to countries that suffer financially, those loans come with strict conditions. In capitalism we don't help people or countries, we only invest if there's a profit to be made. And there are no win-win deals. These conditions usually entail the mandatory privatization of everything, and the opening up of the country for rich western corporations. It's a win-lose deal in which the corporations get all the gains; they get access to cheap resources and cheap labor in countries where labor- and environmental laws are all but non-existent. These rich corporations kill the local markets, denying local entrepreneurs any chance of setting up a business of their own. These small entrepreneurs receive the same treatment they get here in our rich countries, and will be bought or eliminated by unfair competition. And white men of European descent are at the head of this exploitative system.

I therefore was surprised to see the below linked video of a segment of the Daily Show called "If you don't know, now you know." It paints China as a neocolonialist powerhouse, out to take over the African continent. My first thought was: that's rich. That's the pot calling the kettle black, so hypocritical. I'm not saying that what's said isn't true; I'm sure China is out to widen their sphere of economical and political influence, which is their duty in the game of capitalism. I am saying that by leaving out everything I stated above, the segment is exceedingly hypocritical, and that it fits in the trend of blaming China for everything and building an atmosphere of fear and hate towards that country. And it's not even funny. Let me assure you; Africans don't care who their exploiters are, they lose any which way. The opening sentences in the introduction of this post are from one of my favorite reggae songs by Burning Spear called "Cry Africa," also known as "Cry Blood Africans." It's linked above; enjoy.

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