Overview

Greed remains central to modern ideas about human economic relations, and this has never been more pertinent than in the African context. In this stimulating and provocative book, Murove traces the advent of greed in African economics through colonial capitalism, and considers how its culture of expropriation and exclusion gave rise to the emergence of political capitalism in modern Africa. In addition, he challenges economic practices employed in the political sphere of both Africa and the West, such as foreign aid, misdirected government policies and rampant corruption. Refusing to be seduced by the popular rhetoric of African nationalism, Murove promotes critical interrogation of the idea that the problems faced by post-colonial Africa stem from colonialism alone. A work of intellectual honesty, Greed in Post-Colonial Africa makes a brave and vital contribution to the current discourse on greed in African economics, and will generate reflections on Africa's development for general readers and researchers alike.

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9781912356317

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This is a brilliantly written and passionate book which makes a distinctive contribution to African economic ethics. Munyaradzi F. Murove is a trailblazer, taking his readers through sound story-telling and cogent ethical reflections. He refutes romantic descriptions of Africa, highlighting the extent to which greed has set in. Murove challenges popular stereotypes that posit a corruption-ridden Africa and a pristine West. In an informative and challenging way, he exposes the collusion between Western and African greed in bleeding Africa dry. I warmly commend this book to scholars from diverse disciplines and general readers. Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe Presuming that it is not merely the economy that influences values, but also values that influence the economy, Munyaradzi Felix Murove explores the ways that greed has affected production and consumption in Africa. He argues that greed has underpinned colonialism, imperialism, finance capitalism and government policies in the post-independence era, and so has been exhibited by not just those of Euro-American descent, but also contemporary African elites. Readers should consider Murove's claim that greed is 'the greatest problem in our human existence'. Thaddeus Metz, University of Johannesburg The issue of greed that is being tackled by the author in this book is not a trivial one. The author has brought a breathtaking piece of work at an opportune time within the context of global capitalism with specific reference to its impact on post-colonial Africa for the reasons I shall briefly enumerate below. The novelty inherent in this book is that it gives the reader an historical account of modern capitalism from a binary perspective- Colonial Capitalism and Political Capitalism from an Afro-centric perspective. In this historical account of capitalism, the focus is on how greed has manifested itself. According to the author, colonial capitalism was characterized by extraction of resources from Africans to the detriment of the indigenous people. This type of capitalism was barren of the Weberian thesis of the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. This insight provides the reader with the most incisive scholarly dimension of the book. Echoing the introductory story to the book, the author unambiguously asserted that colonial capitalism was about the acquisition and expropriation of land and minerals from indigenous African people. Prof H Moyo, University of KwaZulu-Natal

This is a brilliantly written and passionate book which makes a distinctive contribution to African economic ethics. Munyaradzi F. Murove is a trailblazer, taking his readers through sound story-telling and cogent ethical reflections. He refutes romantic descriptions of Africa, highlighting the extent to which greed has set in. Murove challenges popular stereotypes that posit a corruption-ridden Africa and a pristine West. In an informative and challenging way, he exposes the collusion between Western and African greed in bleeding Africa dry. I warmly commend this book to scholars from diverse disciplines and general readers. Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe Presuming that it is not merely the economy that influences values, but also values that influence the economy, Munyaradzi Felix Murove explores the ways that greed has affected production and consumption in Africa. He argues that greed has underpinned colonialism, imperialism, finance capitalism and government policies in the post-independence era, and so has been exhibited by not just those of Euro-American descent, but also contemporary African elites. Readers should consider Murove's claim that greed is 'the greatest problem in our human existence'. Thaddeus Metz, University of Johannesburg The issue of greed that is being tackled by the author in this book is not a trivial one. The author has brought a breathtaking piece of work at an opportune time within the context of global capitalism with specific reference to its impact on post-colonial Africa for the reasons I shall briefly enumerate below. The novelty inherent in this book is that it gives the reader an historical account of modern capitalism from a binary perspective- Colonial Capitalism and Political Capitalism from an Afro-centric perspective. In this historical account of capitalism, the focus is on how greed has manifested itself. According to the author, colonial capitalism was characterized by extraction of resources from Africans to the detriment of the indigenous people. This type of capitalism was barren of the Weberian thesis of the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. This insight provides the reader with the most incisive scholarly dimension of the book. Echoing the introductory story to the book, the author unambiguously asserted that colonial capitalism was about the acquisition and expropriation of land and minerals from indigenous African people. Prof H Moyo, University of KwaZulu-Natal

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