Message-ID: <9609201223.ZM8121@visidel.cau.edu> Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 12:23:32 -0400 From: Darren Bolden <mailto:daaim@VISIDEL.CAU.EDU> Subject: Re: Sustainable economic systems.pre/post colonial times To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
On Sep 20, 8:08am, Steve Rossouw wrote: > Subject: Re: Sustainable economic systems.pre/post colonial times
> > Date sent: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 21:47:57 -0400
> > Send reply to: mailto:africana-l@warthog.cc.wm.edu
> > From: Deborah Rose <mailto:d.j.rose@derby.ac.uk>
> > To: Multiple recipients of list <mailto:africana-l@warthog.cc.wm.edu>
> > Subject: Sustainable economic systems.pre/post colonial times
>
> > I am looking for details about how Africans and their descendants
> > developed sustainable economic systems, both in pre and post colonial
> > times.
> > Many thanks
> > Deborah
> >
> THEY HAVE'NT!
>-- End of excerpt from Steve Rossouw
This inane reply proves that there is no shortage of ignorance concerning Africa's glorious history. These comments could ONLY be imputable to ignorance and ethnocentrism.
You can try Cheik Anta Diop's books, but specifically the one titled "Pre-Colonial Africa". Also Ivan Van Sertima's series of books on Africa's presence in various parts of the world. Any book on the Moorish, Mali, Ghana, and Songhay empires could give you some insight. These were bustling centers of trade and economic development for hundreds of years (sustainable) before the invasion of the Europeans. Check literature on Ibn Khaldun, one of the great African ancestors who wrote extensively on economic theories. You may find some good insight from Basil Davidson's work on Africa.
We often fall prey to "Self-Reference Criterion" in that we examine other civilizations based on our small view of the world. Yes, Africa had many examples of economic prosperity, but if you are comparing these systems to present-day Western systems, you may not think they were prosperous at all. I would just add that before replying to a post, one should at least have SOME knowledge of Africa. Otherwise, the wise thing to do would be to keep quiet.
Darren Bolden Clark Atlanta Univeristy Box 222 Atlanta, GA 30314