Obama’s ‘inclusive capitalism’ is an imperialist myth

Former U.S. President Barack Obama, left, delivers his speech at the 16th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, July 17, 2018. In his highest-profile speech since leaving office, Obama urged people around the world to respect human rights and other values under threat in an address marking the 100th anniversary of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela's birth. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Former U.S. President Barack Obama, left, delivers his speech at the 16th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, July 17, 2018. In his highest-profile speech since leaving office, Obama urged people around the world to respect human rights and other values under threat in an address marking the 100th anniversary of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela's birth. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Published Jul 22, 2018

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Barack Obama is indeed a great orator. His delivery of the sixteenth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture was a marvel to witness at close range.

Although he said many profound things, expressing sentiments many of us share, listening to him I still felt the way I felt when we marched to the US and French embassies in Pretoria on 8 October 2011, under the auspices of the Concerned Africans Forum and South Africans for Peace in Africa Initiative, against the bombing of Libya.

It is difficult to reconcile the Obama who gave the Mandela Lecture with the head of state and government of the imperialist US. Obama might have lectured about many things he did not really mean but arguably, one thing he really meant is that the world needs an “inclusive capitalism.”

This is an oxymoron because greed rather than inclusivity is immanent in the capitalist system. Even countries that could be said to have “inclusive capitalism” are actually pursuing inclusive development under social democracies.

The world we live in has not only been volatile and uncertain, it has become a dangerous place. Obama realises this now that he is no longer at the White House.

Capitalism, or monopoly capitalism to be specific to the current conjuncture, benefits a few at the expense of the many.

Essentially, the US and European countries have maintained the peripheralisation of the Global South. This has added insult to injury - the ramifications of centuries of enslavement, colonialism, imperialism, plunder and the exploitation of the Global South - and Africa in particular - have been followed by further plunder, imperialism and coloniality in the sense that hierarchies keep countries, regions, certain groups and people of certain genders at the bottom.

The skewed distribution of power globally has ensured the interests of the so-called developed countries trump effective and inclusive development in the Global South. Without a doubt, the global disorder that has persisted since the end of World War II, has been marked by high levels of inequality, poverty, misery, environmental degradation, disease, hunger and pervasive injustice. These trajectories have been informed and reinforced by the power asymmetry between the Global North and the Global South, with the former clinging tenaciously to privileges and power. It is capitalism as we know it - there is no such a thing as “inclusive capitalism.”

The globalisation processes have been defined by the logic of the market, free trade and deregulation, thus leading to the primacy of capital and its hegemony over all the other factors of production. An increasing feature of global capitalism is financialisation, which involves the development of sophisticated financial tricks such as shares, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposits, equities, derivatives, toxic assets and so on, issued by various banks, financial institutions, stock brokerages, insurance providers, credit rating agencies and government-sponsored profiteering entities. While these products have increased the volume and velocity of money in circulation, they have served to further global inequalities within and between countries - inequalities through the payment of bonuses and benefits to corporate executives who constitute the top 1% of global income earners.

The contradictions inherent in global capitalism have led to several cyclical crises, which are paradoxically gradually altering the balance of economic power in favour of the Global South.

What appears to be a shift in geography of power from the North to the South calls for new debates on how global relations and social processes can be transformed to ensure comprehensive justice. This becomes more pertinent in view of the democratic deficits that still characterise the global governance architecture in a supposedly multi-polar world, especially on issues of trade, finance, environment, security and development in general.

So, inclusive development is what we must push for. Inclusive development as Julius Nyerere indicated in 1968 implies that “real development means growth of people. If real development is to take place the people have to be involved.” It is hard to imagine this under capitalism - it is hard to imagine inclusive capitalism.

Development can be said to be inclusive if it properly involves those who must benefit from development, and those who must benefit from development should have their views heard about what kind of development they desire and how best to pursue it heard.

Karl Marx theorised that capitalism is a stage in economic development. It has to mature before it gives way to socialism. Provided Marx was right, countries should be ensuring that capitalism matures quicker so we can have a better world, but it is unthinkable that capitalism can be inclusive.

* Gumede is professor at the University of South Africa and director of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute

His new book is Inclusive Development in Africa, published by CODESRIA & AISA.

The Sunday Independent

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