Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
- Colonialism
- Corruption
- Western attempts to undermine the continent covertly
The first example is a no-no. If colonialism always undermines development, then why is India an aspiring power now? The British treated India awfully.
Secondly, all countries are corrupt, with no exceptions. Corruption will exist as long as human beings exist. Yet for most countries, corruption does not retard economic development, so why in Africa?
Lastly, well racism is racism.
So, since corruption is part of the human condition, and colonialism affected other areas badly also, why is Africa still poor?
- Colonialism
- Corruption
- Western attempts to undermine the continent covertly
The first example is a no-no. If colonialism always undermines development, then why is India an aspiring power now? The British treated India awfully.
Secondly, all countries are corrupt, with no exceptions. Corruption will exist as long as human beings exist. Yet for most countries, corruption does not retard economic development, so why in Africa?
Lastly, well racism is racism.
So, since corruption is part of the human condition, and colonialism affected other areas badly also, why is Africa still poor?
Yes, Britain treated India BAD. At one point, many people starved to death. With that said, the British crown built up the infrastructure in India much better than it did in Africa. Africa was not only exploited, it received the most amount of neglect. India might have a fast-growing economy, but there are other problems. 34% of India's adult population can't read. In Sri Lanka, 90% of the adult population can read.
And look at Africa's infrastructure. Both India and Africa inherited their infrastructure from colonial empires. Look at Africa's railroad system. It starts out in the middle of nowhere and ends on the coastal areas. There are no direct routes to get from one end of a nation to another. Cecil Rhodes talked about building a railroad from Cairo to Cape Town. How do you build a railroad(at least in those days) through the Sahara Desert? You are basically trying to build on shifting sand. Africa was basically used as a bunch of plantations. In a plantation economy, roads and other forms of infrastructure are skimped on. Most of the energy is spent on plantation agriculture. The railroads were designed to take cash crops out of the plantations and to the coast where ships can take them. Now, here is another question. Why didn't the colonial powers build a more extensive railroad system and better roads in Africa like what was done in India? If African nations were built up to the same standard that India was built up to during colonial times, do you think the African continent would have lagged?
^^
Regarding India, despite the optimism towards its growth, it still has a long way to go --India actually has a higher rate of malnourishment in children (around 40% from some sources) than sub-Saharan Africa. Remember, India's billion or so people is around the same population as the whole of Africa.
The thing with India is that it has shockingly high constrasts in wealth. India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh (it's the state where the Taj Mahal is in) has around 190 million or so people, on par with the fifth largest country in the world, yet being one of the poorest states of India with a GDP per capita of only around $300 or so, it is poorer than most African countries and would be practically at the bottom of the list if it were a country of its own in the world.
^^
Regarding India, despite the optimism towards its growth, it still has a long way to go --India actually has a higher rate of malnourishment in children (around 40% from some sources) than sub-Saharan Africa. Remember, India's billion or so people is around the same population as the whole of Africa.
The thing with India is that it has shockingly high constrasts in wealth. India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh (it's the state where the Taj Mahal is in) has around 190 million or so people, on par with the fifth largest country in the world, yet being one of the poorest states of India with a GDP per capita of only around $300 or so, it is poorer than most African countries and would be practically at the bottom of the list if it were a country of its own in the world.
I didn't know this, but it shows the affects colonialism can have on places. Under the British, there was one time where alot of people starved to death in India. India got a better infrastructure than most of Africa, but still, there are problems, and like you said, contrasts in wealth. Africa and India also have some internal issues as well. Some of it is culture to a certain extent. Colonialism can't be discounted either.
Yes, Britain treated India BAD. At one point, many people starved to death. With that said, the British crown built up the infrastructure in India much better than it did in Africa. Africa was not only exploited, it received the most amount of neglect. India might have a fast-growing economy, but there are other problems. 34% of India's adult population can't read. In Sri Lanka, 90% of the adult population can read.
And look at Africa's infrastructure. Both India and Africa inherited their infrastructure from colonial empires. Look at Africa's railroad system. It starts out in the middle of nowhere and ends on the coastal areas. There are no direct routes to get from one end of a nation to another. Cecil Rhodes talked about building a railroad from Cairo to Cape Town. How do you build a railroad(at least in those days) through the Sahara Desert? You are basically trying to build on shifting sand. Africa was basically used as a bunch of plantations. In a plantation economy, roads and other forms of infrastructure are skimped on. Most of the energy is spent on plantation agriculture. The railroads were designed to take cash crops out of the plantations and to the coast where ships can take them. Now, here is another question. Why didn't the colonial powers build a more extensive railroad system and better roads in Africa like what was done in India? If African nations were built up to the same standard that India was built up to during colonial times, do you think the African continent would have lagged?
Britai treated al its own pretty bad also.. bascially lookig at US one can see what the chnage has done to areas of the contry where transportation ans nergy needed to advance where politcal withheld for decades. It concentrated developemnt of inductry and jobs i cites, Now days we see that often they are the growing areas of the country. Even before WWII it was common for industry and jobs to be concentrated in large metro areas.
^^
Regarding India, despite the optimism towards its growth, it still has a long way to go --India actually has a higher rate of malnourishment in children (around 40% from some sources) than sub-Saharan Africa. Remember, India's billion or so people is around the same population as the whole of Africa.
The thing with India is that it has shockingly high constrasts in wealth. India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh (it's the state where the Taj Mahal is in) has around 190 million or so people, on par with the fifth largest country in the world, yet being one of the poorest states of India with a GDP per capita of only around $300 or so, it is poorer than most African countries and would be practically at the bottom of the list if it were a country of its own in the world.
India has a long way to go before anybody should even whisper the word superpower to be associated with it. A lot of that is hyperbole. India is nowhere near the league of China, a country that also has great wealth inequalities, but is far more effective in pulling up its poor masses.
India has historically been a very classist society. I am afraid that nothing short of a Communist Revolution can change that.
Rampant corruption, superstition, and lack of education are the big three. Also the tribal system is a big problem since a lot of Africans still see things divided along those lines, rather than identify with a specific country.
I became friends with a black man from Nigeria who told me honestly that in the city he comes from, there is a belief that if you ask someone (a stranger) their name and then kidnap them and cut their head off, that if you keep the head in a freezer, every time you say the person's name money will come out of the head's mouth. And that's why in his city no one wanted to tell strangers their name.
Education. In the grand scheme of things, almost nonexistent. The number one humanitarian gesture the first world could make in Africa is to educate them. I'm not even necessarily talking about Math and Science, but even just how to maintain a clean water source and prevent AIDS and unwanted pregnancies.
This is laughable. There have been many missionaries trying to "educate" Africans since the 1800s and little has changed. I think if they want to live the way they live, we should just let them. Not every country has to be developed or live like we do in America. They might be much happier if we just LET them be hunter/gatherers or farmers and stopped trying to IMPROVE them. Who's to say that their way of life is inferior to ours if it's more sustainable for them in the long run and makes them happy?
The first time I heard of this was from an American.
Google "South African man raped infants".
You will find a plethora of news stories.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
