This is a passionate indictment of the political and economic tyranny in black Africa today. George Ayittey, a native of Ghana, recalls the exhilaration that swept the continent when colonialism ended. But soon native African leaders began plundering their nations' economies, imprisoning political opponents, and blocking economic progress.
Although those leaders rejected capitalism because of its mistaken identification with colonialism, Africa actually has a tradition of markets and decentralization. Ayittey lays out that tradition before describing the Colonial Era, the march toward tyranny, the de facto apartheid, the military regimes, the intellectual repression, the corruption, and the dubious conduct of the West. Published by St. Martin's Press.
George Ayittey teaches economics at American University in Washington, D.C.
1992/412pp./$35.00 cloth ISBN: 0-312-08058-1
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