Contribution short abstract:

This paper discusses the nexus between René Dumont’s ‘class colonialism’ and the socioeconomic development antinomies in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also highlights the negative impact of the ‘cult of mediocrity’ (Achebe, 1984) on development initiatives in Africa.

Contribution long abstract:

This paper examines the nexus between ‘class colonialism’ and the socioeconomic development antinomies in Sub-Saharan Africa. In his book 'False start in Africa', the French agronomist, economist, and sociologist René Dumont pointed out that, the postcolonial administrative machinery hinges on ‘class colonialism’, that is, a system of exploitation, oppression, and prevarication by the urban bourgeoisie to the detriment of the poor masses, which he presaged, would hinder development initiatives in Africa. Drawing on empirical evidence, the paper aims to discuss the factuality, the currency, the conduits, and the new forms and dimensions of class colonialism, and its influence on the socioeconomic development of Sub-Saharan African countries.

While the paper acknowledges the general colonial and postcolonial roots of development challenges in Africa, it argues that, in contemporary Africa, internal paradoxes, the ubiquitous cult of mediocrity and shared complicities, immensely contribute to the former colonies’ quagmire. External geoeconomic, geopolitical and geostrategic agendas, and neocolonial forces are not solely responsible for the African development malaise as some scholars have observed. The paper demonstrates how political interference and instability, social injustice, leadership tussles, greed, the cult of mediocrity, the erosion of confidence in regional economic communities, hamper the socioeconomic development of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Methodologically, qualitative research methods, especially document analysis, are used for the research in this paper. Accordingly, the focus has been on secondary data, including background papers; memoranda, books, articles, brochures, newspapers, press releases, radio and television programme scripts, survey data, public records, and reports.