The cost of economic development: Africa
1994
Onyango, A.
Development appears to involve cost borne especially by the poorest members of emerging capitalist economies. Effects of this are evident in African countries where traditional village economies valued the contribution of all their members to general well-being, and in turn, they could count on support afforded by the sociocultural infrastructure. These communities emerged from colonization and found themselves bound together as nations with other culturally divergent groups. Lacking sufficient technical expertise at government headquarters to run modern Western-type economies, coupled with the fact that ruling elites retained strong allegiances with their own ethnic groups, whole communities were left out of the immediate post-independence development impetus. The implementation of structural adjustment programs in the 80s--to correct stagnated development--has further disenfranchised the most vulnerable communities. Finally, the strong population control component of current development activity has set in motion a process that is drastically modifying family structure and knocking the bottom out of the social safety net that has sustained these communities, particularly their poorest members
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