Unchallenged monopoly over the highest valued African industries. The majority of African export industry, from mineral exports like rare earth and gold to high value agricultural exports like cocoa and coffee, are overwhelmingly dominated by western corporations.
Direct theft of resources. European companies take advantage of their monopoly on extraction and transport of African minerals to unilaterally export mineral wealth out of Africa and put them into banks and reserves in Europe. For example, France import so much gold from their “former” colonies that it has one of the largest gold reserves in the entire world despite the fact that France doesn’t have a single active gold mine anywhere in it’s sovereign territory.
Capture of added value from noncompetitive raw exports. Through the IMF and World Bank, the west has put in place a multi-decade scheme of making sure Africa can’t industrialize while pretending to help them. Due to this, African nations don’t have any industry capable of processing their raw crops and minerals, forcing them to sell as-is and let western businesses cash in on the added value of processing them. For example, Ivory coast produce over 40% of the world’s cocoa beans supply, but since until China helped them build one Ivory coast didn’t have any processing plant, Ivory coast for a long time had to sell raw cocoa beans for low prices and let western chocolate, pharmaceutical and makeup corporation earn the added value of roasting and fermenting the beans, separating the oil and making consumer products out of them.
Exploitation of desperate workers. It is hardly a secret nowadays that Africans working in the mining or high value crops industries are horrifically exploited and work in high mortality rate, near slavery conditions for almost no pay whatsoever. Plenty of documentaries have been made on the subject, especially on Nestle’s treatment of their cocoa producers.
Unequal exchange. Due to the IMF scheme mentioned in point #3, Africa is stuck producing and exporting noncompetitive, low or no added value products, which translate to low revenues for the countries. The complementary of this fact is that, on the other hand, African nations have to buy every finished high added value products (cars, consumer electronics, machinery, etc…) from the west, generally for very high prices. This unequal exchange, Europe buy only cheap low value goods from Africa, Africa buys only expensive high value goods from Europe, results in a net flow of wealth away from Africa and directly into the pockets of European capitalists. As long as Africa continues to produce only low value goods and buy high value goods from Europe, which the scheme ensure it does, Africa will continue to have their wealth sucked away via this mechanism.
When a market is fully saturated in one country, the only place corporations can move is outward in order to combat falling rates of profit from competition and monopolization. The global process of Imperialism is found when countries in the Global North outsource production to the Global South, using millitary pressure and financial pressure to force capitulation and domination. These Imperialist countries then carve out as much as they can in resources and cheap labor, while keeping these countries under-developed so these prices stay low.
In other words, the average person in the Global North consumes more than they create, while the average person in the Global South consumes less than they create. It’s almost like the Global North is the Capitalist class, while the Global South is the working class.
I hear this all the time but how are they currently doing this? What are some examples?
Multiple ways:
Unchallenged monopoly over the highest valued African industries. The majority of African export industry, from mineral exports like rare earth and gold to high value agricultural exports like cocoa and coffee, are overwhelmingly dominated by western corporations.
Direct theft of resources. European companies take advantage of their monopoly on extraction and transport of African minerals to unilaterally export mineral wealth out of Africa and put them into banks and reserves in Europe. For example, France import so much gold from their “former” colonies that it has one of the largest gold reserves in the entire world despite the fact that France doesn’t have a single active gold mine anywhere in it’s sovereign territory.
Capture of added value from noncompetitive raw exports. Through the IMF and World Bank, the west has put in place a multi-decade scheme of making sure Africa can’t industrialize while pretending to help them. Due to this, African nations don’t have any industry capable of processing their raw crops and minerals, forcing them to sell as-is and let western businesses cash in on the added value of processing them. For example, Ivory coast produce over 40% of the world’s cocoa beans supply, but since until China helped them build one Ivory coast didn’t have any processing plant, Ivory coast for a long time had to sell raw cocoa beans for low prices and let western chocolate, pharmaceutical and makeup corporation earn the added value of roasting and fermenting the beans, separating the oil and making consumer products out of them.
Exploitation of desperate workers. It is hardly a secret nowadays that Africans working in the mining or high value crops industries are horrifically exploited and work in high mortality rate, near slavery conditions for almost no pay whatsoever. Plenty of documentaries have been made on the subject, especially on Nestle’s treatment of their cocoa producers.
Unequal exchange. Due to the IMF scheme mentioned in point #3, Africa is stuck producing and exporting noncompetitive, low or no added value products, which translate to low revenues for the countries. The complementary of this fact is that, on the other hand, African nations have to buy every finished high added value products (cars, consumer electronics, machinery, etc…) from the west, generally for very high prices. This unequal exchange, Europe buy only cheap low value goods from Africa, Africa buys only expensive high value goods from Europe, results in a net flow of wealth away from Africa and directly into the pockets of European capitalists. As long as Africa continues to produce only low value goods and buy high value goods from Europe, which the scheme ensure it does, Africa will continue to have their wealth sucked away via this mechanism.
When a market is fully saturated in one country, the only place corporations can move is outward in order to combat falling rates of profit from competition and monopolization. The global process of Imperialism is found when countries in the Global North outsource production to the Global South, using millitary pressure and financial pressure to force capitulation and domination. These Imperialist countries then carve out as much as they can in resources and cheap labor, while keeping these countries under-developed so these prices stay low.
In other words, the average person in the Global North consumes more than they create, while the average person in the Global South consumes less than they create. It’s almost like the Global North is the Capitalist class, while the Global South is the working class.
I recommend reading Lenin’s Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism.