Why is Africa so poor and primitive

[ferocity]

some say that their genetic makeup causes them to be physically superior (that's why africans and those of african origin dominate all sports) but that their genetic makeup also causes them to be less mentally developed. Some theories say that Europeans developed greater mental capacity but lesser physical abilities due to the environment that rewarded that, while the Africans did the opposite...

africans in africa arn't built like the african/american in america, you know why the afracan/american has a bigger build then the african from africa

[P29]

there is still vested in interest from european businesses which rely on cheap labour of the african people, which surpresses their people!! also alot of corruption and greed amongst those in politics and the military in certain african countries, many countries operate in a de facto elitist way, same could be argued about the western powers however in Africa it isnt done in such a concieled and sophisticated way!!
Many Africans however are content with thier lifestyles and traditions, they're are not so concerned with material success like western countries, so to us their so called 'mud-huts' and 'dirty animals' maybe disgusting; for them it is not deemed the same way!!

[squealpiggy]

This is a two part question.

Part 1 is why were all the advances in technology initiated in Eurasia?

Part 2 is why has technology and progressiveness been adapted to so readily in some areas but not in others?

Part 1 can be answered by looking at the development of society. Human societal evolution follows a repetitive pathway.

It begins with small bands of hunter gatherers. Every member of the group is responsible for the location of food and there are no surpluses. Everyone in the group is considered equal though there is often a "big man" who is trusted to resolve disputes despite not having any actual authority.

The next step of societal development is the commencement of subsistence farming which doesn't change the fabric of society, all members including the big man are still responsible for producing food. But this step involves learning the tricks of farming which allows for specialisation.

The next steps of societal development are only possible when the ground is fertile enough to allow for the production of a surplus. With a food surplus you can then support a Chief to make decisions, you can support full time warriors to protect you or expand your territory and conduct raids, you can have priests to bargain with the gods for you and eventually you can have artisans, metallurgists and other specialists which let you develop the technology to develop further into chiefdoms or states.

The area in which this initially developed was the Fertile Crescent in what is now Iraq. Farming methods spread easily East and West as the climate tends to be the same latitudinally. Hence the technology spread further throughout Eurasia which is very wide, but less easily in the Americas and in Africa whose greatest dimension is North/South.

That is why the birthplace of technology was in Eurasia and not Africa.

Part 2 is cultural. If you look at the world's most progressive cultures they tend to have at their heart cultural values derived from one of two sources: Protestantism or confucionism. Both of these cultural ideals emphasize frugality, hard work, saving and planning for the future. Both of them reject the notion of pre-ordained fate and this is vitally important.

Throughout the world the least progressive cultures tend to be those which have at their heart animist religions of magic. These cultures emphasize the futility of making an effort, the fragility of progress, they insist that mankind is like a leaf blowing in the wind with no ability to control its path.

Other cultures such as Catholic ones occupy a middle ground, those cultures tend not to be at the forefront of progressiveness, but they are also not on a level with the animist and magical cultures like those of Africans or Native Americans etc.

When your culture consistently emphasizes fate over work then you have no reason to work and to save. It could be wiped out in a second by forces beyond your control so being frugal when you have plenty, saving for the future and working hard to make your later life better does not make sense. The cultures which have these motivations at their heart tend to be characterized by an attitude of being hard done by, of blaming external forces even in situations in which that isn't an issue.

The best example is the island of Hispaniola, in which Haiti with their culture of witchcraft and animism have left their nation an utter despairing wasteland and the Catholic Dominican Republic is relatively progressive. The island began with the two sides basically identical but one works as a society, the other is on the brink of collapse.

So you have Africans who seem to be unable to bring themselves out of their plight while Europeans and Americans with their protestant societal systems and the far East with their confucian values are flourishing when given the opportunity.

Note that this does not mean that religion is the factor which makes progressive societies progressive. For starters confucianism is not religious, it is philosophical. Secondly another progressive nation is India which despite its notoriously fatalistic main religion, Hinduism, has adopted the protestant values of their former colonial masters and are thus beginning the flourish now that they have been given the opportunity to do so.

There's my answer.

[squealpiggy]

Oh yes, I should show my sources.

Jared Diamond - Guns Germs and Steel



Thomas Homer-Dixon - The Upside of Down



Joseph Heath - The Rebel Sell