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Africa has none of these. Wrong. South Africa is a passably modern country, and it became that way through its sheer money-making opportunities. The existence

Africa has none of these. Wrong. South Africa is a passably modern country, and it became that way through its sheer money-making opportunities. The existence of rich resources, mixed with a decent climate made SA more workable than other countries. The Africans in SA didn't need handouts in order to work in mines. But currently, you have two types of prospering Africans in SA: Those who made it on their own, and those who received "handouts" from the affirmative-action-drunk post-Apartheid government. Guess which group might eventually sink the ship? Which sunk Zimbabwe? Improvement comes through mutually beneficial exploitation, like it or not. I'm an asshole, but I'm right. My (little) money's where my mouth is: Almost all of my investments are in foreign companies, with a large share in undeveloped countries. I've done quite well... I don't give a fly about Africa's well-being (believe me), but there's growth opportunities there.

nostrademons 19y ago
I thought I'd left in a clause where I excepted a few African countries, but it looks like I edited that out. There are some African nations that are not doing too poorly. South Africa, Egypt, to a lesser extent Kenya, Botswana, and Ghana. What I wrote above does not apply to them. I'd very much disagree about your assessment of why South Africa developed, though. The rest of Africa is rich in resources too, and many of them have free (as in lack of regulation) markets. South Africa became a passably modern country because it was colonized by the British. Unlike other European colonial powers, the British brought their institutions with them and trained the local natives to govern them. When other European colonial powers pulled out, they took all trained administrators with them. Take a look at the list of British colonies in Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization_of_Africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization_of_Africa): Egypt, Sudan, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Gambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Now take a look at the most successful economies in Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa#Economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa#Economy): South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Egypt, and until recently, Nigeria. Notice any similarities?
- mynameishere 19y ago
  the British brought their institutions Shopkeeping. Checkmate.

nostrademons 19y ago

I thought I'd left in a clause where I excepted a few African countries, but it looks like I edited that out. There are some African nations that are not doing too poorly. South Africa, Egypt, to a lesser extent Kenya, Botswana, and Ghana. What I wrote above does not apply to them. I'd very much disagree about your assessment of why South Africa developed, though. The rest of Africa is rich in resources too, and many of them have free (as in lack of regulation) markets. South Africa became a passably modern country because it was colonized by the British. Unlike other European colonial powers, the British brought their institutions with them and trained the local natives to govern them. When other European colonial powers pulled out, they took all trained administrators with them. Take a look at the list of British colonies in Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization_of_Africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization_of_Africa): Egypt, Sudan, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Gambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Now take a look at the most successful economies in Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa#Economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa#Economy): South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Egypt, and until recently, Nigeria. Notice any similarities?

mynameishere 19y ago
the British brought their institutions Shopkeeping. Checkmate.