Influenced By Marxism And Imperialism - 915 Words

Influenced by Marxism and imperialism, Dependency writers sought to explain the high inequities in the world economic system in terms of its distribution of power and resources and places most nations in a dependent position in relation to the industrial powers. Dependency scholars basically believe that less-developed countries will be unable to develop because the rich world uses them as the equivalent of colonies. The major contention here is that the developing countries of the Global South are hindered in their developmental efforts by their association (economic) with the industrialized countries of the Global North. Prominent scholars here include: Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy (Monopoly Capitalism, 1957/1960; Fernando Henrique†¦show more content†¦Free trade with minimal state intervention is the key tenet of neoliberal ideas driving most international organizations. In the contemporary world characterized by open markets, US hegemony, international organizations, regional cooperations and large inflows of foreign aids and technologies in economically less developed states, national governments are increasingly constrained in formulating and implementing policies that are deemed appropriate for their citizens. I discuss below major developmental challenges in Africa (by extension other poor countries) which have roots in contemporary imperial relations with the West. These include: debt burdens, structural adjustment programmes, operations of multinational corporations and external aid. Debt Burden One of the greatest threats to development in most African countries is the huge debt stock and the cost of servicing it. Large-scale borrowing in the 60s and 70s (in a bid to ensure welfare of the citizens after colonialism) coupled with events in the world economy such as rising oil prices, rising interest rates, falling commodity prices and global recession led to the Debt crisis of the early 80s which left many poor countries with huge cost of servicing debts which still lingers today. Even with the debt relief initiative of the World Bank and IMF about two