5PIRS011W.2 Rethinking Development
Bush, R. (2007). Wealth and poverty: mining and the curse of resources? In:Poverty and
N eoliberalism: Persistence and Reproduction in the Global South. London: Pluto Press.
Despite seeming like a natural endowment guaranteeing economic growth, resources have been
s een as a curse. As Saad-Filho et al. (2013) note, resource abundance is correlated with poor
growth and poverty, resulting in a reliance on primary product exports (4). Bush's chapter
explains the cause of this lack of growth and the overreliance on commodities. Bush's article
will be summarised within this discussion paper, and its strengths, weaknesses, and
modern-day applications will be identified. The chapter's strength is its focus on Africa's
dispossession of resources, which led to not only stigmatised development but also dependence
on Western capital. Another strength is its focus on the concept of rentiers as a conduit for
s tigmatising development and facilitating poverty in sub-Saharan Africa through corruption. The
weakness of the paper is its failure to expand on countries which do not have a resource curse
despite their resource endowment, such as Botswana. Identifying the modern-day application,
s een in the 2008 crisis and COVID-19 pandemic. Concluding that, Bush's chapter is still highly
relevant. It is an essential piece of work to consider when attempting to understand
development and why resource-possessing sub-saharan nations have not been able to develop.
The chapter "Wealth and Poverty: Mining and the Curse of Resources?" by Bush explores the
impact of resource dependency on economic development in African countries, particularly in
the context of mineral-rich nations. The short-term economic growth in sub-Saharan nations
whereby high oil and metal prices led to optimism about Africa's economic growth, projecting
rates around 5.8% being misplaced due to aggressive imperialist interest and the violent
accumulation of Africa's assets through dispossession (1). Driven by imperialist states and
international capital corporations, particularly in the context of increased world market prices
for commodities. Dispossessions undermine development efforts, contradicting the promises of
growth and benefits to producer states, whereby isolated resource wealth has led to local
capital accumulation strategies (3), creating and sustaining African elites and, generating
opposition and contributing to authoritarian politics (3). The text delves into the global power
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dynamics of the United States' assertive pursuit of dominance in West Africa's petroleum
reserves and the concentration of world production in the hands of a few corporations. Touching
upon the resource curse and the influence of class and social forces on state development
policies (3). Diversification challenges arise from the failure to foster independent development
s trategies, contributing to the entanglement of the "resource curse." The concept of a rentier
s tate, reliant on external rent, is dissected, with the text suggesting that associated political
dynamics hinder effective governance. Transparency initiatives like the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (EITI) are mentioned (27), critiquing their efficacy and emphasizing a
focus on corruption rather than addressing underlying causes of injustice and inequality. In
conclusion, the text underscores the variability of Africa's responses to the global mining
industry, stressing that the benefits derived from resource endowments hinge on global
commodity prices and local socio-economic forces. (Bush, 2007)
The chapter’s main argument is that Africa’s possession of resources is more of a curse than a
blessing, as due to the United States and oil companies possessing African reserves, this
vicious imperialist drive for resources has stigmatised African development. It illustrates the
dispossession of sub-Saharan locals due to capital-driven mining corporations (Bush, 2007; 3),
creating dependency on Western capital. As shown in Table 5.1, ten African countries have
s eventy per cent of their exports dominated by only one commodity (Bush, 2007; 4). However,
until the mid-1960s, these minerals for the booming world economy did not benefit Africa
financially (Bush, 2007; 12). This isolation of wealth (Bush, 2007; 9) illustrates the capture of
resources by imperialist states and is a nod to dependency theory, whereby the livelihood of
s ub-saharan locals depends on Western capital. The chapter’s concept of dependency theory
can be seen in its account of 2002, when the Anglo-American mining company announced its
intention to leave the copper belt in Zambia, jeopardising half of the country’s foreign exchange
earnings and at least 11,000 jobs (Bush, 2007; 14). Bush’s chapter gives excellent detail in
illustrating how the privatisation of natural resources has caused developing nations to be
dependent on Western capital, aligning with Chant et al.’s account of dependency theory, which
s tates underdevelopment was caused by the exploitative influence of the industrialised nations,
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