From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

Walter Rodney,

Vincent Harding (Introduction)

Start date: February 21, 2018

Finish date: March 27, 2018

Discussion: CHAD: How Europe Underdeveloped

Why we're reading this: Our choice for Chad is How Europe Underdeveloped Africa AND short translated reads by Chadian authors - “…more
[close] Our choice for Chad is How Europe Underdeveloped Africa AND short translated reads by Chadian authors - “A Butterfly in the Hills” and "On the Fourth Day" by Koulsy Lamko, and several folk tales from Chad that can be found here: http://www.tchad.org/research/literat... Discussion runs March 22 - 27.

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CHAD: How Europe Underdeveloped

* Short Excepts from Chadian authors
By Sylvia · 6 posts · 8 views

last updated Apr 03, 2018 07:14AM

As You Read - Thoughts on How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
By Cait · 13 posts · 7 views

last updated Apr 03, 2018 02:00PM

What Members Thought

Mar 27, 2018 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: colonialism, around-the-world, africa

3.5 stars. Everyone with a Western-centric education should consider reading this book. Yes it is dated and flawed in numerous ways, however it meticulously conveys a truth that is unfortunately still often ignored even 50 years later: The riches of the Enlightenment in Europe did not come for free, and they certainly don’t prove any intrinsic superiority of the West. Instead, they were built on the exploitation of a continent (and beyond), both through slavery and colonialism.

Rodney argues (usi 3.5 stars. Everyone with a Western-centric education should consider reading this book. Yes it is dated and flawed in numerous ways, however it meticulously conveys a truth that is unfortunately still often ignored even 50 years later: The riches of the Enlightenment in Europe did not come for free, and they certainly don’t prove any intrinsic superiority of the West. Instead, they were built on the exploitation of a continent (and beyond), both through slavery and colonialism.

Rodney argues (using a Marxist analysis) that Europe was able to exploit Africa because there were slight differences that put Europe in a capitalist phase while Africa was not, so that Africa was not equipped to compete and the differences blew up until the gap was unbridgeable. He is thorough in his analysis and I learned a lot about everything from the internal slave trade within different regions in Africa, up to European soap monopolies that were built on African resources.

It isn’t an easy read. In addition to being dense and technical, the prose is often long-winded and repetitive. Some maps and illustrations would really help (hopefully those will be included in the new edition coming out in October 2018, which will also include an introduction by Angela Davis). I found it useful to refer to Marx and Fanon for context.

The book has numerous flaws. For all its long in-depth analyses, there were also plenty of one sentence asserted comments that seemed very overblown, unsupported, outside Rodney’s scope of knowledge, and/or just generally problematic. To give just a few examples: He erases Native Americans, claims to explain the cause of the Holocaust in terms of colonialism, and gives a one line economic explanation for the Civil War. He also describes the Americas as as having barely emerged from the hunting stage (no mention of e.g. the Mayans or the Aztecs) right after a long chapter combating misconceptions and clarifying the extent of state formation in Africa before colonialism. The list goes on.

As other reviewers have noted, possibly the biggest flaw is Rodney’s uncritical praise of the Soviet Union and communism. I wonder if perhaps information about the atrocities committed by Stalin had not reached him at this time and place.

Despite the flaws, the book has really deepened the way I think about colonialist exploitation and I look forward to the new edition next fall. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2018 Becki Iverson marked it as to-read

Apr 03, 2018 Cait rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-by-poci, black-author, social-justice, non-fiction, guyana

Jan 09, 2018 Sylvia Bull marked it as to-read

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