Afro-pessimism and globalization: the stakes of symbolic death of Africa

Abstract

This research strives to present the complexity of the Afro-pessimist concept, the conditions which made it possible and the way it is expressed on a daily basis. Straightaway, we need to precise that Afro-pessimism has a long pre-history. It is to be placed in the continuity of negative discourses towards Africa and Africans, the very discourses that conferred legitimacy to slavery and colonization. Yet,  Afro-pessimism is a new and trend-related discourse arising after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. So, as a matter of fact, it is a discourse of/on ruin and collapse: the whole set of values preceding the collapse of the wall collapsed with the wall to make room for a new order. Thus, Africa is fated to imminent collapse since the new order, globalization, has nothing to sacrifice to the strategic stakes which were so profitable to the continent. The Cold War is just a bad memory now. The stakes of  the new discourse are therefore clear: assistance to development has become an  obsolete notion which is synonymous with squandering capital. Henceforth, Africa  must take the pace of world economy and contribute to production according to the new standards of globalized capital: local governments and firms must renounce  their capital in favor of multinational companies. Globalization means symbolic  death for Africa. It is total destruction since not a single sector will be spared, even the culture and environment are hurt.

Key words: Afro-pessimism, globalization, social discourse, otherness.