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Globalization And Sustainable Development In Africa
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This is why he considers the
globalization of Africa as a forced insertion into the global community
through developmental aid conditionalities, resulting in harsh economic
and political reforms in Africa.
Surely, the Church is not passive to
the dialectics of globalization since it sees humanity as a single
family. Thus, in Centesimus Annus the church opines that:
It is necessary to break down the barriers and monopolies, which leave
so many countries on the margins of development and to provide all
individuals and nations with the basic conditions, which will enable
them to share in development. (Centesimus Annus, no. 35).[16]
This
view was expressed in the caveat by Pope Benedict XVI (while a
cardinal), that: “The economic inequality between the northern and
southern hemispheres of the globe is becoming more and more an inner
threat to the cohesion of the human family.â€[17]The danger of this
threat is already portrayed in the new forms of terrorism in the
international arena, which paradoxically are the products of, as well as
a problem to globalization.
However, the Church appears to be very
optimistic about the possibility and advantages of globalization, since
its dangerous tendencies can be easily eschewed. Thus, in his 2004
World Day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul II repeatedly stressed the
fundamental but very simple principle that must guide all our
reflections on globalization. According to him,
Humanity,
however much marred by sin, hatred and violence, is called by God to be
a single family … this recognition can give the world as it is today -
marked by the process of globalization - a soul, a meaning and a
direction.[18]
He, therefore, expresses optimistically that:
“Globalization, for all its risks, also offers exceptional and promising
opportunities, precisely with a view to enabling humanity to become a
single family, built on the values of justice, equity and
solidarity.â€[19]In this way, the Church addresses the question of
globalization and its effects on the unity and sustainable development
of humanity.
As can be deduced from the above expressions, the
Church is especially concerned about inequalities as well as the
alienation of individuals and communities from economic and social
progress. Indubitably, these seem to summarize the major predicament of
Africa in the current globalization process.
To this extent, we have
tried to highlight the views of various schools of thought on
globalization vis-Ã -vis its impacts on Africa. Certainly they contribute
to our understanding of the phenomenon. Yet, it is obvious that more
elucidations are still necessary for us to appreciate the existential
implications of the current globalization process towards sustainable
development in Africa. This will be our pre-occupation in the
subsequent chapters.
[1] Cf. A. Giddens, “What Is Globalization?†(www.globalisationguide.org).
[2] Cf. R. Lubbers, “Globalization†(www.globalise.knb.nl/RundLubbers).
[3] Cf. D. Held & A. McGrue, “Oxford Companion To Politics†(www.polity.co.uk/global)
[4]
Cf. “Global†in The New Webster’s Dictionary Of The English Language,
International Edition, (USA: Lexicon Publications Inc., 1997), p. 406.
[5]
H. Alapiki, “The Political Economy Of Globalization,†in H. Alapiki
(ed), The Political Economy Of Globalization, (Port Harcourt: Amethyst
& Co. Publishers, 2005), p. 211.
[6] Ibid pp. 211- 212 (quoting J. Scholte, 1997 pp.14-15).
[7] Ibid (quoting Oyejide, 1998 p. 107).
[8] Ibid pp. 212-213 (quoting A. Apkuru-aja and A. C. Emeribe, 2000 p. 361).
[9] Cf. World Bank, “Attacking Global Poverty†in World Development Report 2000/2001 (www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty)
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