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Makala ya kwanza aliyotuma kwa wafanyakazi wenzake chuoni:
Book review: "How The West Was Lost" Author: Damisa Moyo, published 13th
January 2011
By Hildebrand Shayo PhD
"How The West Was Lost: Given this book is 240 pages
and only come out on (13th January 2011) this is a tough
book to review. Not simply because of the title-I am of
course not the first person to note this fifty years of
economic folly and the strake choices ahead-or because of
USA might in this globe and its implication. I read the
book before beholding online for any other opinions on
the book, and I am glad I did, because I found only different perspectives which might
have influenced my review more than it did. My original opinion and the one that
stuck with me? There is a lot of value in this book in its present intellectual. Certain
Damisa Moyo's stands, although termed as controversial economist springing in
African continent this is a hard-hitting book to review. Not simply because of the title
though, but unfolding new dynamic in development!
I am convinced that Damisa Moyo is that rare type of person-an economist who
makes waves. Her first book, Dead Aid, angered many in the charity sector by
arguing that foreign aid has harmed Africa and should be phased out. This second
book published on 13th January 2011 ISBN-13: 978-1846142352 with 240 pages
accuses American and other Western powers of squandering their world economic
dominance through a sustained catalogue of fundamentally flawed policies.
How the west was lost: fifty years of economic Folly-and stark Choices ahead goes
so far as to predict that USA will be a Bona fide socialist welfare state" by the later
part of this century. Indeed, if nothing else changes it from its current path write
Moyo, it is almost certain that America will move from a fully-fledge capitalist
society of entrepreneurs to a socialist nation in just a few decades. Moyo continue to
state that "the trouble is it nont be just any socialist welfare state….. the US is on a
path to creating the worst and most venal form of welfare state (poorly developed and
designed)-one born of desperation from many years of flawed economic policies and
a society that rapaciously feed on itself."
There are plenty more. If current trend continue unabated, Moyo goes much further
than the usual surveys predicting when China will surpass the US in GDP-she suggest
new China hegemony could include the redback renminbi replacing the greenback
"dollar as the world‘s favourite currency. Think about it, she argues Americans on her
book! Foreign exchange share prices, the price of copper, the price of oil, all in china
renminbi" The US and other Western powers will be reduced to second division
players and the new global powerhouses will not just china. Forget East versus West.
It is now the Rest versus the old West.
If Dead Aid was labelled "provocative and incendiary" I think in my view, How the
west was lost will likely see reviewers lexicons raided for even more emotive
language. However, ambian born Moyo 41 is not afraid of being a pioneer. In my
view, I think the London based former Goldman Sachs economist is arguably one of
the most powerful women in British business, sitting on the board of FTSE 100
constituents Barclays and brewing giant SAB Miller.
Last years she features in Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential
people and also appeared in Oprah Winfrey's power list of 20 remarkable visionaries.
Her Cv doesn't end here, she is also one of the world economic Forum's young
global leaders and last year took part in the power broking Bilderberg conference,
frequently by the world's movers and shakers.
So what has led her to aim fire at the West's leaders struggling as they are with
budget deficits and waning economies? The answer that crop up from her book is that
she believe the global economy is at an inflexion point in terms of where it goes from
here. From the book one can easily reads her mind that she is as if wanted to write a
book that is one-stop shopping for where we are in the world today. The books state
that there is so much focus on dealing with tactical issues to do with the emergency
solution, which are all necessary of course. But people are missing the bigger picture
and issues because the way the political structure is set up encourages you to focus on
immediate, rather than what she would say are the important issues, the structural
things which have been going on for 50 odd years.
Moyo's book discourages those who want to hear noises and instead, call for those
who want a clean perspective on what the heck is going on around the world and how
is it that we have got to this point. Moyo's book apparently present the idea of
unintended consequences in running in both Dead Aid and How the West Lost, with
policies that Western population have rallied around as great ideas out to produce
detrimental results. In this way, the book clearly show that Western government have
implemented laudable notions like the idea that everyone should, have a roof over
their head, receive access to food and be supported in old age by pensions. These
issues have led to unfortunate outcomes in terms of capital, labour and productivity,
the key ingredient in economic growth.
The book states, is not just the USA, there are tons of examples of UK and European
mistakes. A class one is pension. That is obvious not an American specific thing. The
British and European economies are suffering under the weight of what is to come.
Moyo argues that the next great Ponzi scheme after Madolff is probably pensions.
Also is not just the USA where performance is declining in a very detrimental and
rapid way in maths and science and reading. It is also a very much of problem in the
UK. And if you compare, she write…. 1950-1980 with 1980-2000, in terms of GDP
growth in the USA and many European countries, it is been exactly the same. Yet, she
writes.. between 1950 and 1980, people were living in pretty protectionist regime and
between 1980 and 2000there was more much capital and trade flows. In addition, real
wages have been relatively flat in the US and Europe, so taken together you has a
question about whether globalisation which is another great idea on paper, has
actually worked in practice. Has it helped Americans? Has it helped British People? Is
there still time to fix these problems? She argues yes, however, she continue to
argue…..the choice are going to be very difficult and may need to be facilitated
through political changes, for example she suggest, in the term of the government so
they have more incentive to think longer-term.
In the book it is clearly shown that we all know what are the problems are. And she
put forward her thinking about the new paradigm on the aspect of coalition
government in UK as a brilliant because so far in the UK, coalition government have
been able to implement some of the hardest choices of austerity measures in an
environment where it's much less politicised than if it was just a left-wing or right
wing government in power. Moyo's position is that sometime you need to strip out
politics to make things happen. She continue ….. Sometime government may require
a change of mind set, arguing that government need people who are absolutely
focused on long term structural issues such as education, deficit, management, energy,
food commodities, long term productivity and infrastructure. In the book it is argued
that these problems have been highlighted but where is the plan for those issues?
There isn't one. It is these sorts of awkward questions that Moyo seems to most like
posing. In the Dead Aid, she argued that more than $1trilling of development aid
from west government to Africa over the 50 years has not helped Africa but it has
ruined it, with millions of people poorer because of aid. She is strongly convinced that
destroying the myth that aid works, means making charity history.
In the book you will clearly recognise former United Nation Secretary Kofi Annan
position, when he said that Moyo made a compelling case for a new approach to
Africa, while Rwanda president Paul Kagame bought copies of Dead Aid for entire
cabinet. Of course, some others were not so complementary, because some critics
such as research fellow at the centre for global development calling Dead Aid book
"sporadically footnoted, selective in its use of facts, sloppy, simplistic illogical and
stunningly naive. Others also had their views, such as one pro-aid organisation ONE
that claimed that Dead Aid was "reckless" Moyo is unmoved. You get to know her
stand on the book. Regarding issues that matters for African continent, Moyo's book
portrays that picture that out there many have a bigger agenda than trying to help
resolve the African problem. Moyo clearly states that she has no doubt in any body's
mind, whether you love or hate aid, there is clearly something wrong. She argues that
there is clearly a problem with the system that has not delivered economic growth and
reduced poverty for 50 years. Nobody can tell her that things are working
swimmingly in Africa. She think and convinced isn't.
For sake of those who might not recall who is Damisa Moyo, she was born and raised
in Lusaka and achieved a chemistry degree and MBA at Washington DCs American
University, a doctorate in economics from Oxford university and a Masters from
Harvard University's Kennedy school of government before working as a consultant
at the world bank and then for nearly a decade at Goldman. Moyo's doesn't think that
her back ground in Zambia has really affected her lens on because she believes that
her classical training has been western style although she is fantastically fortuitous to
have been born in Africa because she doesn't feel to have vested interest to the US,
or China or elsewhere. Reading Dead Aid and this new book one get her stand that
she has impartial perspective on the way the world works. She argues that markets
can work in managed way and if they are left to run rampant it is obviously
problematic. She thinks there are better ways to deliver economic benefits to benefit
highest number of people. In a great picture, Moyo argues that there are more serious
things to be addressed in this world. They might have negative externality of system
but they are not illegal. In a nut shell, as it is just one day since this book get to
shelves, Moyo will be bombarded with a backlash from Westerners who might not
agree that the West has been lost.
Hildebrand Shayo is Senior Lecturer (Economics), The Open University of Tanzania
Source:
Why the US can become a socialist nation
Dambisa Moyo: without change US will almost certainly become a socialist nation - Telegraph