walter rodney book how europe underdeveloped africa

He shows how material development shifts and transforms social norms using Marx’s theory of base and superstructure. Rodney states that development is not to be solely an economic affair but a social process as well. To start this book Rodney expounds on what he means by development eschewing the traditional neo-classical economical focus on figures such as GDP. As historical materialism shows us, it is necessary to understand the past to understand the present, and it is essential to understand the past and the present together to prepare for the future – this book helps us do these things and helps those interested in improving Africa’s lot in this world build a strong historical and theoretical base from which to spawn new ideas.

It is without a doubt that European subjugation of Africa was morally abhorrent, but Rodney’s analysis is firmly based on materialist understandings that go deeper than surface-level idealistic moral critiques. Rodney offers an antidote to such poisonous lines of thinking by offering a historically sound explanation without resorting to moralizing on the evils of European imperialism and colonialism. It is easy to dismiss colonialism and exploitation as being in the past and attributing the misery of Africans to a variety of euphemistic factors such as “culture” to justify the inequality of the current world order. Understanding the systemic reasons for Africa’s poverty and the historical events that led up to it can fill an important gap that can otherwise be filled unconsciously by pseudo-white-supremacist explanations. The problems Rodney outlines still haunt us today, and if anything, even less is being done than in the era of ‘flag independence’.įor anyone remotely interested in understanding how the current hierarchy of the world was constructed, reading this book is a must.

Sadly, it is still as relevant as when it was written almost half a century ago. Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa presents a well-researched and compelling account detailing how Africa became the way it is. Being African I have always wondered why the continent which is the richest in natural resources is so far behind the rest of the world in development.

Walter rodney book how europe underdeveloped africa