Critiques of Liberal and Neo-Liberal Arguments in Africa: More Emphasis in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review

Tegegn Nigussie

doi:10.7176/jesd/10-13-05

Abstract

Economic liberalism which was founded by Adam Smith is the base for the former liberalism ideology. Through time the present neo-liberalism and capitalist economic system evolved within the liberalism ideology of promoting private ownership of properties and free market for economic development. In this review article, we present the arguments and critiques of liberal and neo-liberal theories to African development more emphasis in Ethiopia. Either in the liberal or neo liberal ideologies believes that government is the second actor on the economy and the market can operate by itself. But for Africa these ideologies are not working because, in Africa still there is not well structure political and economic system. In addition, the market is not still institutionalized enough and there is slow development of infrastructures. Africa cou ntries should contextualize the liberalism and neo liberalism model of development with the prevailing institutional, social, cultural and political history that every country had internally. Keywords: Liberalism; Neo-liberalism; Argument; critiques; Africa; Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-13-05 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Highlights

The courage of liberalism rooted back to the times of Adam Smith and David Ricardo who advocates free market economy for the growth of nations
Economic liberalism which was founded by Adam Smith in his book entitled with the wealth of nations is the base for the former liberalism ideology (Stegmann, 2004)
Because the democratic and the economic systems are not well structured and well-functioning to organized and ruling the market and political actors to operate perfectly. If these ideologies are implemented in Africa without well-structured systems, they will end up with devastating results for the people

Summary

Introduction

The courage of liberalism rooted back to the times of Adam Smith and David Ricardo who advocates free market economy for the growth of nations. Through time the present neo liberalism and capitalist economic system evolved within the liberalism ideology of promoting private ownership of properties and free market for economic development. Neo-liberal ideas that focus on individualism, free markets, and a strong but limited state have so come to dominate advanced industrialized countries’ assumptions about what is appropriate political economic action that, up until the economic crisis beginning in 2007–2008, they had all but disappeared from public consciousness and debate. The postwar period could be seen as a time infused with a very different set of background ideas, based on principles embedded in a very different approach to markets, the state and society, which are generally associated with neo-Keynesianism and social democracy. Since the 1980s, neo-liberal ideas have become so all pervasive that they have largely receded into the background even as they have served to guide public understandings of the possible and set the limits of the imaginable (Schmidt, 2014)

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