00:00Why is Africa so poor?
00:01How could a place that holds trillions of dollars
00:04in rare minerals, gems, and other resources
00:07be so incredibly impoverished?
00:09And for many, the answer is simple enough.
00:11Africa is poor because of the legacy of colonialism.
00:15The narrative usually goes something like this.
00:17Europe's great powers invaded, conquered,
00:20and pillaged Africa of its raw resources,
00:23leaving the continent impoverished to this very day.
00:26Now, more than 60 years after the end of colonial rule,
00:29the continent is still struggling
00:31to overcome decades of exploitation
00:32at the hands of the European powers.
00:35It's a compelling narrative, and many people believe it.
00:38But the problem is, it doesn't seem to be telling
00:40the whole story, and here's the proof.
00:43Consider the story of another ex-colony
00:45that gained its independence around the same time
00:47as most African nations.
00:48Singapore, a former British colony
00:50with virtually no natural resources,
00:52has risen to become one of the wealthiest nations
00:55in the world.
00:56Today, Singapore is actually richer
00:57on a per capita basis than its former colonizer.
01:00So if colonialism doesn't tell the entire story there,
01:04is there anything else that can explain
01:05why Africa specifically is so poor?
01:08Well, one interesting factor is Africa's geography.
01:11The economist Thomas Sowell points out that bad geography
01:13has hindered the continent's development for centuries,
01:16and continues to do so to this very day.
01:18For example, while Europe's long coastline
01:21and plentiful natural harbors helped to facilitate
01:24a strong maritime trade all the way back to classical antiquity,
01:27Africa has had few of these features.
01:30In fact, the continent actually has less coastline than Europe,
01:33despite the fact that it's much bigger.
01:35It has very few deepwater ports,
01:37and with the exception of the Nile,
01:39none of Africa's major rivers are easily navigable
01:42all the way to the ocean.
01:43These geographical problems create huge challenges to trade in Africa,
01:47but geography is not destiny.
01:50Just look at Botswana.
01:51This sub-Saharan country has set records for economic growth
01:54despite being landlocked in the middle of the Kalahari Desert.
01:58While Botswana does have plenty of diamonds,
02:00it lacks many of the other major natural resources,
02:03rivers, or harbors that many of its neighbors do.
02:06And yet, Botswana is one of the richest nations in Africa
02:09with a strong and growing economy.
02:11The story of both Botswana and Singapore
02:13show that the true culprits behind Africa's persistent poverty
02:17has to be something else.
02:19Now, consider this.
02:21In the Tanzanian constitution in 1965,
02:23it discussed the government's role to, quote,
02:26prevent the accumulation of wealth to an extent
02:29which is inconsistent with the existence of a classless society.
02:33This Marxist sentiment was not unusual
02:36in sub-Saharan African governments post-colonialism.
02:39The bottom line is many former colonies
02:41have not only overcome prior subjugation
02:43but have thrived both politically and economically.
02:46But they all seem to have something in common.
02:49Instead of trading colonialism for Marx,
02:52they adopted systems which encouraged private property rights
02:55while at the same time embracing stable governments
02:59which established dependable legal systems
03:01and then courted foreign investment.
03:04The good news is there is hope for countries
03:06still struggling to develop.
03:07But history suggests that it will come
03:09not only through political freedom
03:11but economic freedom as well.
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