States of 'Backwardness', Visions of 'Modernity': West
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STATES OF ‘BACKWARDNESS’, VISIONS OF ‘MODERNITY’: WEST AFRICAN MIDDLE CLASSES IN DISCOURSES OF DEVELOPMENT A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Olajumoke Thokozile Warritay January 2011 © 2011 Olajumoke Thokozile Warritay ABSTRACT African development has long been described as behind or below that of ‘advanced’, ‘First World’, industrialized nations. Consequently, discourses of African progress from colonialism to the present have focused on transforming African societies from ‘backwardness’ and ubiquitous poverty to more prosperous, ‘modern’ conditions. African societies are generally understood as dichotomously configured between elites and impoverished masses. As a result, contemporary African development is aimed primarily at policing wanton elites and providing for the precarious poor. While both these objectives are worthwhile, they create a limited representation of African societies; one focused exclusively on extremes. The existence and experiences of African middle classes are largely ignored. Recently, however, reports have signaled the emergence of an African ‘middle class’ and forecasted its positive impact on development. This thesis investigates a particular subset of West African middle classes in development discourses at the end of empire. I argue for the longstanding existence of modern African middle classes in West Africa and describe how popular notions of African development and modernity have limited our ability to see African middle classes. I examine Western-educated segments of the middle classes at the end of colonialism, and identify them as significant middling groups because of their position between supposedly ‘backwards’ African traditionalism and Western modernity as well as their position astride capital and labor. Because of their middling character, Western-educated middle classes in West Africa emerged as both subjects and objects of development in the transition from colonial to nation-states. I emphasize how notions of progress created by and about Western-educated West Africans focused on the imperatives of modernization and state-led development. The thesis focuses on definitions of African middle classes, notions of African modernity, and visions of national development at the end of empire. I examine social theories about middle classes in general and African class structures in particular before discussing visions of development as expressed by influential Western- educated Africans (namely Edward Blyden, Africanus Horton, Kwame Nkrumah and Félix Houphouёt-Boigny). I point to nationalism as a unifying class project for Western-educated Africans at the end of colonialism, and underscore how Western- educated Africans envisioned the advent of African nations as the continent’s entry into the modern world. National development then appeared as a strategy for ‘backwards’ nations to ‘catch-up’, and Western-expertise was offered as an expedient way to boost growth and modernize new nations. Examples from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are provided throughout the thesis to illustrate general claims and to highlight variation within West Africa. At the end of colonialism, ideas about development in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire were almost antithetical. These two countries demonstrate how differences in ideology, imperial relations, and state-led development strategies necessarily affected the size and strength of Western-educated middle classes at the end of empire. In all, this thesis highlights the power of development discourses in constructing certain images of ‘African society’ which, in turn, propel particular development projects. How we imagine and represent African societies has important effects. This thesis pushes the way we understand Africa’s past as well as contemporary class constructions. I attempt to insert the middle classes into representations of African societies with the belief that including the middle classes will produce more accurate and realistic ideas about African development. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Born to Sierra Leonean parents, Ms. Warritay attended British and American international schools in Nairobi and Lagos before attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is a part of growing populations of ‘third-culture kids’ and ‘Afropolitans’ (Tuakli-Wosornu 2008) whose lives are not bound by any one nation or identity. This experience informs her thinking. Broadly, Ms. Warritay is interested in issues of global inequality and African development which she is currently investigating through analysis of West African class structures. iii To Aunty May, For love and strength and wisdom we thank you iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is the fruit of collective labor and many thanks are due. I am particularly indebted to my Special Committee Chair, Professor Fouad Makki, and my minor member, Professor Judith Byfield, for their support, advice and patience throughout this project. In the midst of uncertain ideas and unformulated plans, you stuck with me and provided invaluable assistance – thank you. All the errors and shortcomings of this work are mine and in no way reflect a shortage of good advice. My deep thanks also go to the department of Development Sociology for allowing exploration of ‘big’ questions and encouraging critical thinking about African development. While this thesis was at its heart an intellectual challenge, it entailed a variety of emotional hurdles. To my many sisters whose friendship, sound advice, solidarity and love got me through this time – thank you! (You know who you are.) Lastly, I have to express my deepest gratitude to my family and friends. I cannot name everyone here but have to mention my loving parents, Cleopatra and Batilloi Warritay, Aunty Jumoke and Uncle Fred, Mr and Mrs. Taylor-Pierce, Yinka and Carolyn, Taiwo, Kenny, Greg, Fredline, Duro, Ibiduni, and Toks. I am constantly learning from you how to walk in the world with love. Thank you. I stand on your shoulders. v TABLE OF CONTENTS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ..........................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................ix INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Development and Modern Middle Classes ................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................. 18 Middle Classes, Modernity, and Development ......................................................... 18 Colonial Narratives of Modernity and the Rise of the Nation-State ......................... 19 Modernity Re-defined ............................................................................................... 22 Capitalist Expansion in Africa .................................................................................. 26 Emerging Classes in African Contexts ..................................................................... 28 The Salience of Class in West Africa ....................................................................... 30 Marxist Influences on African Class Structure ......................................................... 34 Political and National Elites ..................................................................................... 38 ‘Modern’ Middle Classes .......................................................................................... 41 Middle Classes in Western Societies: Marx, Weber, and the Boundary Problem .... 43 Marx and the Two-Class Bias ................................................................................... 45 Weber and Class Complexity ................................................................................... 50 West African Middle Classes ................................................................................... 55 Class and Context in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire ......................................................... 61 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 66 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................. 69 African Visions of Progress: Black People in the Modern World ............................ 69 Part 1: ....................................................................................................................... 71 The (Un)Making of African Identity: Western Educated Africans and the ‘Modern’ Predicament .................................................................................................................. 71 Edward Blyden and Africanus Horton: Alienation versus Assimilation .................. 73 Colonial Constraints and Opportunities for Western-Educated Men ....................... 75 vi United Against Imperialism: Pan-Africa and the Black African State ..................... 79 Nationalism and the nation: Postcolonial hopes and visions ...................................