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Journal of African trips

Africa, spring 1999 part III

Agelasto
2004-05-21 18:12:22

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11. Post-communism is the place to be

Over the past few decades, actually since its very inception, communism/socialism has
earned itself a pretty bad reputation. There?s really nothing wrong with it other than the
fact it has never worked out. In theory it?s great. Fairness, the well-off helping the needy,
etc. But Marxism seems to have been done in by Leninism. In reality,
communism/socialism goes hand in glove with governments that make a mess of their
political, economic, social, agricultural and just about every other type of system they lay
upon their hapless citizens. Perhaps the exception will be China of the future. Over the
past half-century the PRC has moved from totalitarian to authoritarian to what it is now
calling market socialism. If what exists now gives way to liberal democracy, call it
communism/socialism/capitalism with Chinese characteristics, China of the future may
well serve as a model for the developing world. You may feel this is a bit optimistic, my
suggesting that China is centimetering toward becoming a liberal democracy, but I ask you
to grant me this small bit of optimism in my vision of the world?s future, which you must
have figured out by now is bleak if its anything.

I am not sure if Chinese communism?s reinvention of itself will be the model of future
development. If this were to be the case, however, the countries that China might
influence are those that have already gone through the agonies of the communist/socialist
stage (like China itself). Generally, I am bullish on these types of countries, Vietnam, for
example. Another such country is the Republic of Guinea, in West Africa. It is a country
that through thick and thin has looked up to China as a big sister, and still does. Guinea
resembles Zambia, my favorite country of East Africa and another China admirer, in that
for me they are ...