Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the United States takes a militaristic approach to Africa, while China takes the capitalist. In the short term, the militaristic gives the US the most impact on events but in the long term, the capitalist approach will yield the best results all around. Moreover, the military approach will inevitably cost much more in blood and in treasure, for dubious gains. The capitalist way will not cost blood or treasure but will yield dividends for years to come. Anyone who thinks about it, for even a moment, will understand this, but the leaders of the US seem to be unable to make this simple cost benefit calculation, to the World’s detriment.
Today, the United States has troops in many countries in Africa. Small units are hunting down the Lord’s Resistance Army in the Republic of the Congo and in the Central African Republic, the US has stationed the Coast Guard in Cape Verde, in fact, there are around 19 US military actions going on. They range from actively engaged to mere drone bases. The US has a large military footprint in Africa. In Iraq, the US has spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives, but the oil revenue is going to the Chinese, and peace is nowhere to be found.
Military interventions are very expensive. Not only in the blood of our children but in our nation’s treasure. People and money that would be better invested in entrepreneurial activities. But the US government sees fit to drain off those resources for overseas adventures. Adventures that will never show a profit for anyone in the US or even US interests. Most of the time military intervention results in hatred for the US and it’s people, diminished economic returns for the US and the countries it tries to help, and usually ends up putting a dictator in office, propped up at US taxpayer expense.
The Chinese capitalist footprint is even larger than America’s militarist. The Chinese approach is to invest in businesses and infrastructure throughout the continent. The Chinese don’t put their own money up for infrastructure improvements though, they rely on the International Development fund, to pay for their projects, with China only putting up a token amount. The cost to China is insignificant, and certainly will not result in the loss of Chinese military personnel.
The profit to the Chinese will far exceed the US return on investment. For almost no investment the Chinese model will yield many favorable results. Not the least of which is the long lasting favor of the people of Africa. While the US is paying handsomely for hatred China is gaining good public relations almost for free. Another dividend for China is access to African markets. The benefit of this cannot be overstated. China is opening up rapidly growing markets for it’s goods and services, while the US militaristic approach closes the African markets to US goods and services, (like in Iraq) largely due to the animosity that military intercession builds up.
In the end it is the introduction of Capitalism that will settle the wars and insurgencies across Africa. The stated goal of the US is to export democracy around the World. But even a cursory look at history and the present shows, nowhere in the World has democracy flourished, unless and until the economy of a State is capitalist. Where democracy has been imposed from the outside, it has resulted in war and revolution, as soon as the money and troops stop flowing. In no case in history or in the present has democracy caught on without a functional market system, and nowhere has there been a functional market system, and despotism. The two are incompatible.
So it appears that while the US wastes money, and lives, generating hate and distrust, China is doing the right thing in Africa. The Chinese approach will yield democracy faster and with more durability then any amount of military intervention ever could. Exporting capitalism will make China rich and the nations that receive it will become free and prosperous. That is the way it is. If we truly want peace and prosperity in the World, then exporting capitalism is the way, if we want more war, revolution and poverty, the militaristic approach is best. I guess it depends on what you want for the World and your people.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
