Live8 to G8

Saying Africa is one unhappy place is an understatement -- but the words to describe the continent fail me. Saying Africa is a hopeless cause would be easy, and it would make our lack of response to the plight of the Africans an easy response. The statistics are staggering. With an optimistic annual GNP growth rate of 3%, it would take 120 years for Africa to join the industrialized nations of the world -- by which time, the industrialized nations would have already moved on. Africa has a GNI of US $650 and a life expectancy of 50 years -- simple math would put the average African earning just over US $22,000 in their lifetime. Add to the poverty, rampant disease (both the ones with cures and incurable epidemics), the social and political strife that has lead to civil unrest and wars, and you get quite the depressing picture compared to the standards and expectations of the industrialized nations.

Using the commonly accepted measures of economics and the widely held expectations of the industrialized nations, the African story is ugly -- and hopeless. There is more to Africa however -- more that leads one to have hope. Some industrialized measures need to be thrown out when looking at Africa, as Tunde Obadina points out in his article, Getting a measure of African poverty. When analyzing the African economic case, trade that is mediated with dollars needs to be dropped in favour of measures that take the output of communities in comparison with their consumption. Cultural activities in the industrialized nations for instance, have been monetized, whereas in Africa, culture isn't an input into national economic output. Africa is poor, yes; has lots of problems, yes -- but Africa is far from lost.

There are two schools of thought for helping Africa. The one supported by the fine folks of the conglomerates and their mouthpieces, the leaders of the G8 -- who have found unlikely allies in some famous musicians -- favour the engine of globalization for helping Africa. From their perspective, dropping the barriers of global trade with Africa would be a great start. On the surface, it sounds like a good plan. The more Africans can make and sell stuff, the more money Africans can have, and the greater their GNI. The problem with this approach is that it doesn't really make sense when you look at the statistics or think carefully about it. Between 1998 and 2002, annual export from Africa grew by 6.1% -- yet, the average annual GNI grew by only 0.5%. What gives? Why, when exports increased, did the income of individuals not make a comparable jump? Opening up Africa to globalization right now is too early. Africa can't compete with the low cost exporters of Asia, South and Central America. Africa will always lose in this scenario. The conglomerates are the ones who will fill their coffers with wealth earned from the backs of the Africans, while you and I in the industrialized world enjoy cheap consumer goods.

The second school of thought is the opposite. Close Africa to globalization and international trade -- not completely of course, but enough to make Africa undesirable for conglomerates. While the industrialized nations have eliminated state sponsored imperialism (with the exception of the still colonial US), they have opened the doors to the weak of the world to be plundered by imperialistic conglomerates. Close that door. Force Africa to become self sufficient; to feed itself; to overcome poverty at home; to focus on consumers at home, and not abroad. If the conglomerates had their way, Africans would toil, consuming their cheap resources to fill the wants of the industrialized consumers while the needs of the Africans go unfulfilled. The pennies it takes to produce a bauble for a spoiled consumer of an industrialized nation, would be more effective in producing food, income and a better life for Africans. Should we be accepting the exploitation -- hell, slavery under a different guise -- of an entire continent?

We in the industrialized world can do a lot to help Africa that takes little effort:

Forgive their debt -- they're so poor, they will never be able to pay us back; and besides, we still haven't paid them back for the rape, pillaging and slavery we practiced before Africans became people

Encourage democracy -- but don't bomb, invade and shoot to make it happen

Give them a hand with health care and increasing life expectancy -- every child should have a grandparent, and have a chance at being a child

Stop selling them weapons -- they don't need the weapons technology we have or the efficiency to kill each other; they're doing just fine with what they have

Stop exploiting African natural and labour resources -- it only serves to move wealth out of Africa; it is self-serving and imperialistic.

The Live8 concerts are over. It came and went. Did it make a difference? Are we any more aware than we were before the concerts? Do you believe we can now make a difference for them? If you met any of the people you were supposedly having your awareness of raised, would you tell them that we in the industrialized world -- we the ordinary people -- we really care about you? Would you tell them that we cared so much that we threw a big party in eight of our cities around the world? That we danced and we sang, and made merry, because we really, really cared about them? If I met any of the people we were supposedly learning about, I wouldn't tell them about the party. I would be embarrassed and ashamed.

Image source: the Digial Journalist.