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The Institute on world affairs the Institute on world affairs held each year on the San Diego State campus brings together statesmen scholars military leaders and businessmen from all over the world. The purpose of this institute is the understanding of the problems and challenges that face man gained through knowledge and discussion. This year's theme was toward a new world and here to introduce this session speaker is Professor Minos generalised director of the Institute. I am. Very deeply gratified. Having with us. A most articulate expert. On the subject of Africa as well as in political science in general in the related topics in the United States. A man who has appeared at this institute before and those of you who are privileged to hear him. Recall his excellent performance. Dr. John a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley.
Has had of course many attributes. Derived from his talents in his field and his knowledge of his field. He's been a special technical economic advisor to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. He dealt with international trade and financial integration of African countries. He's been a consultant for the economic developmental Institute University of Nigeria. He's traveled been a consultant in Washington. He knows his field very intimately and has written very extensively. I am indeed very happy to present to you my good friend and colleague and expert in his field I want to emphasize that because there aren't many experts on this subject today. Dr. John Lootie Lootie am. The.
Top of the. Thank you for suggesting around us. You must not take my judgment too seriously tonight because as a general I was and I had decided to discuss this topic tonight. About a year ago. Much has happened and I've had occasion to question my judgment in accepting this invitation ever since. In the play no exit sign. One said you can't rap. To say nothing of machine guns. So we have no choice. We must convince them of our integrity. We find good reasons for what we do. But fear and hatred and all the dirty little instincts one keeps Dok their motives too.
So let us carry on and try to be honest with ourselves. This I think is the major contribution of the symposium integrity. I would therefore like to see me first to discuss with you what are the major developments that have been occurring in the western world since approximately 1950. How do these developments compare with progress in Africa. And to what extent has there been a retrogression in Africa then. To what extent is apartheid only an African phenomenon. Do we also encounter it in the United
States in normally subtle forms. And then lastly what can we do about it. There's been a strange phenomenon within the last three or four years where what was known as near marxist theories of imperialism have been applied to domestic spying in our own country. Most of these use belongs to those belonging to the slums of intellectual thought. I want to present them to you and see what relevance of any they have to our case. These neo marxist theories of imperialism claim that the heart
of discrimination lies in economic phenomena which is false. The argument runs as follows. The way in which men derives their livelihood determines the stratification of society. This stratification of society today it is going further into the category of the capitalist on the one hand and the proletariat and their interests are irreconcilable. And from this conflict of interest. So the new your marxist theories Rand learns the course of history. They claim didn't back that everything that the labor.
It is not paid for in surprise the total product about. Rents and property are a form of exploitation. And their arguments run in terms that in so far as economics is concerned that capitalist societies would encounter a decline in the rate of profit. And that this decline in the rate of property would have to bring about socialism. Furthermore they maintain that as these profits would drop. And since capitalist countries would be reaching development along similar tendencies their interests would conflict in colonial countries. But the conflict of these interests would bring about. Enough
pressure of private capital. Upon their respective state departments that this would bring about conflict and war. This position is now maintained in China with a vengeance that we're always primarily a product a capitalist of a Titan stage called Imperial. In the international sphere. This has been researched carefully. There is practically no single case in which it can be shown. That the private interests of capital were powerful enough to somehow influence the State Department that this is in effect to cause wars. But the argument is strongly maintaining it
is based on what occurred three surplus us the first capitalist countries to have surpluses of capital loanable funds that have surpluses. A manufactured good and then it was extended to surplus as a population. Let me just give you the conclusions of this literature merely in one moment. Even packed. Capitalist countries with excess balance were making investments in colonial countries and this was causing aggression. Which country with the creditors with capital to lend. In the heyday of capital. So from the police on ACC wars to World War 2 there were the United Kingdom Holland Switzerland.
Which countries were the important borrowed Russia Germany Italy up to World War 1 the United States. Would anyone seriously argue that the first group are the aggressors during the period and the second group were the lions. In surprise so-called excess manufacturers are concerned. It is true that when countries have access manufactures to sell abroad it often resulted in conflict. But very seldom the disc commercial complex result in war. Lastly any thoughts passed capitalist countries having excess population is concerned. The simple fact of the matter is that there are more people of Italian than German extraction in one borough of New York namely the
Bronx than the rar in the former colonies Germany and Italy were able to obtain. They often use the argument of lebensraum record population but the fact of the matter is that their people didn't wish to go there. One would have thought that this presentation of scandal theory insofar as peace and war was concerned. What have long been dead. But I'm concerned over the fact that in the present day debate as to where power rests in our country the argument is similarly being applied. That fundamentally power is in the hands of the industrial sector the so-called security industry plus the Pentagon
and the high powered technicians in government that use quite prevalent. To me it smacks of the new your marxist theories of imperialism because power in a country such as this does not simply rest in such link chain relationships. There's another point of view that states that in the populistic societies such as ours it is extremely difficult to know where power rests. Rates of change are very rapid and therefore the government really can't tell where the emergence of new power groups are emerging. I think that those are the economic forces the forces of uncertainty and every
force that can up gain mass expression in a democracy be it historic. Political psychological or economic. Has being and can be a potential cause for war. But I was startled that wars may emerge from Somalia cations. But never from small causes us. And the same is true of the manifestation of rebellion of the form that we have encountered this summer in our cities. If you think back this has not been that kind of tendency that results in riots
in rebellion and war what has been the role of discrimination discrimination so you have the applicant in Africa. And of the poor in this country. Because from my part I think the entire presentation of discrimination of negroes as such as Iran and persons the negro ought not to be regarded as any other human being and his problems are no different from other poor. So the presentation not to be considered in a general vein because his problems are not much different from the problem the poor white or the Indian or the Mexican. There are some very difficult anomalies here. As I look at our history from
1950 to the present I wonder whether you would agree that the following courses have been paramount. First the economic growth. Of the capitalist countries in particular has been rapid and in fact has been more steady than probably any time before in capitalist history. Second that while this economic growth has been occurring in Western Europe and in our country in every society there is a large pocket of the population which feels that it has been discriminated against.
That our social political cultural and economic institutions have somehow left them in the backwash. An inconsistency perhaps at the very time of higher growth. More stability. There is the greatest amount of unrest and fundamental instability. Secondly. That has been the accelerated rate of technological advance and communication. The medium in many respects has become the message. By which I mean that's where the worst of society obtains leadership and direction
for its rate of change and the hope of its continuous progress. That's probably as important as the rate of speed of advance itself. Third that in our private economic sector the violence of the market has been tainted tamed very much indeed. And yet. At the same time the world over people's feel that they can but can't obtain much greater advantages by behaving in groups than they are behaving alone in the international sphere. This takes the form of common markets in Europe in Africa in Latin America in the domestic sphere.
The greater is the extent to which people are against government and well-preserved says because the truth of the matter is that our government is not well geared to provide detailed administration of welfare services. It does an excellent job when it has to with regard to distribution of wealth through taxes etc. but it does not do a good job insofar as implementing day to day provisions of welfare programs are agricultural programs as well show. Another aspect I think that is going on around the world over. There's an increase in national planning. And there's national planning in most countries of the world
has been considered to be essential to keep to a minimum. The catastrophes that before families are individual. If you would agree that these forces have in fact been operating. Then I wish to turn to the problem as to how well have they been operating in the African countries first. How would one explain the fact that since independence the African countries have encountered revolution after revolution. Let me suggest to you that when you
travel say from Cairo toward the opium and Ugandan the Rhodesia in the south you will encounter something just fine. Let me discuss the problem of discrimination in Africa. I learned three line US employment education housing. With regard to employment. You found us that as you move from one country say in East Africa further south to another. When the jobs were unskilled you had virtually no discrimination at
least not among the northern countries. As I travel down into the DGA and you arrive to Salisbury when you enter a machine shop and say an Englishman was working on an African design there the problem became more acute when you asked the foreman at a company such as Uni lever how would he explain this phenomenon. He said that the company had guaranteed the white people working there of the state interest insurance of their jobs. But they feared to impart their trade which was a human phenomenon. But as you got to the Republic of South Africa the proportion of non Negroes to
Negroes greatly Rose Negroes to non negroes were about four to one. And I was surprised because there I encountered for the first time. That poor whites had the most lenient menial unskilled tasks. When I inquired about this it was explained to me that when the competition for unskilled jobs between whites and colored became acute. That's where the discrimination was greatest. The lesson was not difficult to reach. If you're going to avoid discrimination with regard to employment it is
not only important to be sure that there are jobs available for the unskilled it was just as important to the ones one step ahead. I thought them had equally good or better opportunities. Again only if it was General would that tension's be sufficiently reduced and those above have little objection to let those be low rise. It has been rightly said that you can't keep a person in a well unless you remain down there with him. But as I was doing my work in this cancerous place of South Africa I had read the paper that morning to the effect that several of them are jobs that Negroes previously have and
now could only be held by whites. As I looked into this matter I found an election was coming. And since the poor whites had bumps and the negroes had no vote. Political blackmail was being employed. The discrimination was that everything. United States was probably closer than any other country in the world where the adage applies. From each according to his work. To each according to his needs. Because under normal conditions when our economy is working reasonably well families can probably up to that objective better than the United States today than anywhere else.
To be sure through their efforts. I therefore suggest to you that while there was this form of discrimination in Africa. The business community seeking its own investments in its own development of course greatly improved the conditions there as compared to the white person not having come. I know of no competent African who would disagree with that. What he would disagree with is the fact that the perseverance of policy which did not permit the applicant to develop to the extent that he was definitely capable of developing. It was a travesty in history. The
Occupational task was one that one of Education was just a serious and interrelated with it in the field of housing. Obviously the problem very different from the notion of housing in the United States. Nevertheless permit me to tell you the story. Now I was in Leopoldville I was told that no Africa. Prior to independence could be in the main street after 6 o'clock in the evening. And Minister after independence felt he virtually could not come and visit another minister who happened to be a Swedish descent because he had been placed in so subservient a role
that the notion of ringing a bell and the white man's home was something he could not overcome. I was present at the dinner when the gentleman was walking up and down the street for a half hour and wondered what was keeping. When he finally came in. And since he was a little light or dubious or served quickly to him he said he couldn't take it because he just couldn't get over the fact the Swedish gentleman's wife of course a white woman was serving Him or two. So the discrimination in Africa existed with a vengeance. But this is history. Virtually all of these countries are now independent.
But when you visit them today the argument does rest against you that are still suffering from neo colonialism. I think that to some extent they are suffering from neo colonial. The fact is that in sore far as the schooling or technical training or commercial enterprise banking etc.. The extent to which these resources are in the hands of non-national has reduced the interest. I've the white people in knowing the Negro community
sufficiently so they know to whom to grant credit or who not to grant. In each case the financial Nique anomic system is like a superstructure to the production of primary products that flow to the bloodstream of Europe or to a night its day.
Series
Toward a new world
Episode
Abolition of economic exploitation, part one
Producing Organization
San Diego State University
Contributing Organization
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/500-6m335s50
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Description
Episode Description
This program presents the first part of a lecture by Dr. John Letiche, University of California, Berkeley.
Series Description
Lectures recorded at San Diego State College's 25th Annual Institute on World Affairs. The Institute brings together world leaders to discuss issues in politics, culture, science, and more.
Date
1968-02-26
Topics
Global Affairs
Public Affairs
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:29:53
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: San Diego State University
Speaker: Letiche, John M., 1918-
Speaker: Generales, Minos D.
AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Maryland
Identifier: 68-9-12 (National Association of Educational Broadcasters)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Duration: 00:29:36
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Citations
Chicago: “Toward a new world; Abolition of economic exploitation, part one,” 1968-02-26, University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-6m335s50.
MLA: “Toward a new world; Abolition of economic exploitation, part one.” 1968-02-26. University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-6m335s50>.
APA: Toward a new world; Abolition of economic exploitation, part one. Boston, MA: University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-6m335s50