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Live as African : On the Relevance of Thomas Sankara’s Agenda for Economic Liberation

DOI zum Zitieren der Version auf EPub Bayreuth: https://doi.org/10.15495/EPub_UBT_00006796
URN to cite this document: urn:nbn:de:bvb:703-epub-6796-7

Title data

Sylla, Ndongo Samba:
Live as African : On the Relevance of Thomas Sankara’s Agenda for Economic Liberation.
ed.: Löhr, Doris ; Ayeko-Kümmeth, Jane . Institute of African Studies
Bayreuth, Germany : Institute of African Studies , 2022 . - VII, 19 S. - (University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers ; 33 ) (Africa Multiple connects ; 5)

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Project information

Project title:
Project's official title
Project's id
Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple - Reconfiguring African Studies
EXC2052

Project financing: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Abstract

"We must accept to live as African – that is the only way to live free and dignified", said the late Thomas Sankara in his famous 1987 speech at the Organization of African Unity. "Live as African", beyond summarizing Sankara's political and ethical vision, draws an agenda for economic liberation articulated around the ideal of self-sufficiency understood both as freedom from external domination and as capacity to self-determination through reliance first and foremost on one’s own resources. In this article, I argue that this agenda is the only one sustainable both for African peoples and for the Planet once it is realized that peoples from the periphery as a whole will never be able to achieve the same consumption/waste levels as peoples in the center, as global South thinkers Celso Furtado and Samir Amin demonstrated some decades ago. Since then, a growing literature has shown why the Western development “model”, due to its ecological exceptionalism, is simply not reproducible elsewhere and why the promise of economic catch-up is illusory. Building on these findings and on the importance and implications of monetary sovereignty, I will elaborate on the principles of a Sankara-inspired economic model that could deliver a free and dignified life to all.

Abstract in another language

"Nous devons accepter de vivre africain - c'est la seule façon de vivre libre et digne", avait déclaré feu Thomas Sankara dans son célèbre discours de 1987 à l'Organisation de l'Unité Africaine. "Vivre Africain", au-delà de résumer la vision politique et éthique de Sankara, dessine un agenda de libération économique articulé autour de l'idéal de l'autosuffisance, comprise à la fois comme la liberté vis-à-vis de la domination extérieure et comme la capacité à s'autodéterminer en comptant d'abord et avant tout sur ses propres ressources. Dans cet article, je soutiens que cet agenda est le seul qui soit durable à la fois pour les peuples africains et pour la planète, une fois que l'on a réalisé que les peuples de la périphérie pris collectivement ne seront jamais capables d'atteindre les mêmes niveaux de consommation/gaspillage que les peuples du centre, comme les penseurs du Sud global Celso Furtado et Samir Amin l'ont démontré il y a quelques décennies. Depuis lors, une littérature croissante a montré pourquoi le "modèle" de développement occidental, en raison de son exceptionnalisme écologique, n'est tout simplement pas reproductible ailleurs et pourquoi la promesse d'un rattrapage économique est illusoire. Partant de ces résultats et de l'importance et des implications de la souveraineté monétaire, je vais esquisser les principes d'un modèle économique inspiré de Sankara qui pourrait offrir à tous une vie libre et digne.

Further data

Item Type: Working paper, discussion paper
Keywords: Economic Development; Delinking, External Debt; Unequal Ecological Exchange; Monetary Sovereignty
Développement Economique; Déconnexion; Dette Extérieure; Echange Ecologique Inégal; Souveraineté Monétaire
DDC Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology
300 Social sciences > 320 Political science
300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
Institutions of the University: Faculties
Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics
Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics > Department of Economics
Research Institutions
Research Institutions > Central research institutes
Research Institutions > Central research institutes > Institute of African Studies - IAS
Research Institutions > Research Units
Research Institutions > Research Units > Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies
Research Institutions > Collaborative Research Centers, Research Unit > EXC 2052 - Africa Multiple: Afrikastudien neu gestalten
Research Institutions > Collaborative Research Centers, Research Unit
Language: English
Originates at UBT: Yes
URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:703-epub-6796-7
Date Deposited: 08 Dec 2022 07:24
Last Modified: 19 Dec 2022 11:31
URI: https://epub.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/6796

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