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Africa Needs a Workable Economic System in the Twenty-First Century

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POLITICAL ECONOMY democracy”. These are labels for rather Africa needs a workable complex, sophisticated ideas that would take tens of thousands of words to explain in full. © Shutterstock.com economic system in the Capitalism is a system of rules, finely tuned to produce certain beneficial twenty-first century outcomes, even if the participants themselves have no interest in the condition of society as a whole. The voters would choose those who had the interests of society as a whole at heart. But, this system can be corrupted, and clearly doesn’t work today in many countries worldwide. Many countries developed regulations for workplace safety, child labour, bankruptcy, and on and on, ideally to prohibit socially damaging behaviour, and channelling activity into socially productive behaviour. The capitalist class owns the commanding heights of a critical part of the economy - the factories, the mines, the large farms and the Trade Unions remain among the best banks. This class of capitalist owners is collectively the ruling class and thrives institutions the continent can rely upon for the off the labour of the working class and the poor worldwide. implementation of socio-economic policies The dissolution of the Soviet Union which can benefit the majority. in 1991 with its planned economy has been so dramatic that some critics argued that when government plans By Christopher D. Mlosy the economy, officials and their policy advisors really do not understand what is best for its citizens and the country. eports that say that restore their competitive edge on the A National Development Plan something hasn’t happened back of the working class. In times of requires central planning and “Rare always interesting to me, crisis, they embarked on a long-term monitoring on a national level and because, as we know, there are known campaign to shift the balance of class implementation on a micro and knowns; there are things we know that forces decisively in their own favour. local level. Adequate funding from we know. There are known unknowns; Therefore, capitalist society is the government agencies as well as that is to say, there are things that we first society in which the reproduction support from citizens will allow short, now know we don't know. But there and the class relations of that society medium and long term goals to be met. are also unknown unknowns – there are requires the general circulation of Goals should focus on the micro and things we do not know we don’t know” commodities. This implies that the task macro strategy for national growth. United States Secretary of Defence, of the theory of a capitalist society is This can include the development of Donald Rumsfeld, February 2002. to explain the integration of circulation economic infrastructure, education, and production, how socially isolated social welfare, science, and innovation. Background Information (private) production is rendered Before setting goals, a government Karl Marx observed in 1886 that social. That is, how a social division of should review the current strengths wage levels can only be settled by the labour is affected without a conscious of each sector and articulate room continuous struggle between capital organisation of social production. for growth (both in the long and short and labour, capitalists constantly Within capitalist relations of production, term). The scope of goals will depend tending to reduce wages to their this is obviously achieved through the upon whether a country is a developed physical minimum, and to extend the exchange of products as commodities, or developing nation and should be working day to its physical maximum, and products not only are exchanged tailored to the cultural, economic and while the working man constantly but must be exchanged2. social needs of a specific country. presses in the opposite direction1. The capitalist system of today has Goals should have sustainability In the capitalist system, business elements that go by code words like regardless of what is politically leaders united around a strategy to “free market” or “laissez-faire” or “our popular at the time. Nations should 40 THE THINKER POLITICAL ECONOMY consider advice from well trained and phenomenon and developed countries housing, low-cost childcare, subsidised experienced economists to review are deeply implicated4. National public transportation, and rough national conditions and proposed efforts for sustainable socio-economic income equality. From its creation, strategies to ensure that they are growth and development can only be the government in the Soviet Union sustainable and not just politically effective if they are not contradicted was based on the one-party rule of the expedient3. Monitoring and evaluation by wide-scale corruption at the upper Communist Party of the Soviet Union. are critical components of successful echelons of public life, including at the Sure, all citizens want these benefits. national development planning international level. However, are they achievable/ exercises. We should understand that workable permanently? It is widely planned economies are the opposite The Collapse of the Soviet Union believed that while the Soviet Union of unplanned economies, and the What can Africa learn from the may have produced these benefits, in so-called self-managed economy, collapse of the Soviet Union with its the end, Soviet public ownership and where production, distribution, pricing, planned economy? planning proved to be unworkable. and investment decisions are made by In December of 19915, as the world After the Bolsheviks seized power autonomous firms based upon their watched in amazement, the Soviet from the Provincial Government individual interests rather than upon a Union disintegrated into fifteen separate in 1917, Lenin’s grand plan - New macro-economic plan. countries. Its collapse was hailed by the Economic Policy (NEP) was elaborated Marxism-Leninism, originating from capitalist major powers as a victory for to bring socialism to Russia. Near the the works of Marx, Engels and Lenin, freedom, a triumph of democracy over end of his life though, Lenin began argues that socialism is the mid-point totalitarianism, and evidence of the to realise that the Communist party between capitalism and communism, superiority of capitalism over socialism. was moving away from his vision. with the means of production The rise and fall of centrally planned Membership was increasing steadily controlled by the working class but with economies – socialism - was one of and some members were beginning the state guiding the economy on the the most important events of the 20th to abuse their power, straying from workers’ behalf. In a socialist economic Century. The United States rejoiced as the Communist Party’s discipline. system the state plans and produces its formidable enemy was brought to its Corruption began to emerge within goods, and either owns or redistributes knees, thereby ending the Cold War the Communist Party, which would resources among its citizens. Socialism which had hovered over these two continue under Joseph Stalin and relies on government planning, rather superpowers since the end of World increase under Nikita Khrushchev’s than the marketplace, to distribute War II. Indeed, the breakup of the regime. The problem of corruption hit resources. While it is usually possible for Soviet Union transformed the entire its peak when Leonid Brezhnev ruled individuals living in a socialist country world political situation, leading to a over the Soviet Union for twenty- to own businesses or offer professional complete reformulation of political, eight years. During Brezhnev’s reign, services directly to consumers, they are economic and military alliances the bureaucracy was huge, going usually taxed heavily on their profits. all over the globe. The dominant directly against Lenin’s vision. It Public services are typically numerous form of socialism, as it existed since became inefficient as officials used and funded by taxpayer money. roughly 1920, had now proved to their positions for their own personnel Africa faces a serious economic be at a dead end. Many communists gain. Brezhnev and his government crisis. By an economic crisis we mean abandoned communist parties for ignored the problem since many Party an interruption or disjuncture in the social democratic ones, or abandoned members were directly involved in it. process of social reproduction that radical politics altogether. This led to economic stagnation, which involves the incomplete reproduction The Russian revolution of 1917, led created a lack of consumer goods6. The of the circuit of capital. In an economic by Vladimir Lenin, deposed the old ideals of socialism, used by the Party crisis, the decline of production and Tsarist imperial autocracy. Lenin was a were seen as lies. This added to the the rise of unemployment continues. revolutionary who refined, developed cycle of decline when disenchanted The capitalists do not care one bit. and gave impetus to the scientific ideas citizens undermined political authority. They want their money. And the only of Marx and Engels. The quality and efficiency of Soviet way left to get it is to impose austerity At its greatest extent the former Soviet production fell. Mikhail Gorbachev on the working class and the poor. Union encompassed a geographical inherited these problems when he The capitalist system has not been area that covered one-sixth of the became General Secretary in 1985. able to get out of the economic crisis Earth’s landmass. The former Union In 1928, Joseph Stalin7 introduced in Africa. Corruption, toxic debt of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) - the First Five-Year Plan for building a and dubious arms deals continue Soviet Union, was a concrete example socialist economy. While encompassing to plague Africa. African countries of what a planned economy could the internationalism expressed by must recognise and realise that true produce: full employment, guaranteed Lenin throughout the Revolution, it change requires transparency and pensions, paid maternity leave, limits also aimed to build socialism in one accountability at all levels and in all on working hours, free healthcare and country.
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