Black History Month 2018: The Gods Must Be Crazy

DIS NIGGA DYIN’ FROM AIDS

Botswana is one of the most interesting countries in Africa.

This is because it is a major outlier. It ranks #108 in the UN Human Development Index which makes it the most successful country in sub-Saharan Africa. While independence has proven to be a tragedy for nearly every other country in sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana has had one of the fastest growing economies in the world and has dramatically raised its standard of living.

Consider the popular myths challenged by Botswana:

• Africans suffer from the “resource curse.”  The Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone are notorious for their “blood diamonds.” Botswana, however, has grown wealthy because of its diamond exports. It has reinvested its wealth in healthcare, education and infrastructure.
• Landlocked countries are doomed to economic failure. Botswana is a landlocked country. And yet, it has been far more successful than Mozambique or Somalia.
• African countries can’t succeed because of their lack of arable land. Botswana only has 0.7% arable land. Burundi has 26.3% arable land.
• African countries are poor because of desertification. 84% of Botswana is covered by the Kalahari Desert. Compare to Niger and the Sahara Desert which has 9.4% arable land.
• African countries suffer from arbitrary borders. 79% of Botswana’s population are ethnic Tswana. 2/3rds of the Tswana people live across the border in South Africa.
• African countries are plagued by corruption. Botswana isn’t known for its corruption.
• African countries haven’t succeeded because of colonialism. Botswana was just as colonized by Britain as Zambia, Zimbabwe or Malawi.
• African countries haven’t succeeded because of the legacy of slavery. Neither Zambia, Botswana or Niger were disturbed by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
• African countries need to be ethnically homogeneous to be successful. The most dysfunctional country in sub-Saharan Africa is Somalia which is one of the most homogeneous countries in Africa. Senegal and Cameroon are two of the most stable and diverse countries in Africa. Botswana isn’t ethnically homogeneous. Most of the San people live there.
• Low IQ Africans are incapable of thriving in independent countries. Clearly, Botswana is an important exception to the rule.

BOTSWANA

The secret of Botswana’s success isn’t hard to discern.*

When Botswana was granted independence in 1966, it was one of the poorest countries in Africa and the world. A year later, a huge diamond mine was discovered by De Beers which has been the source of Botswana’s prosperity ever since. The secret formula was a natural resource + stable government + lack of corruption. Botswana is essentially Senegal with diamonds. The first president of Botswana also married a White woman like the first president of Senegal:

SERETSE KHAMA AND RUTH WILLIAMS

Does Botswana’s relative success disprove race realism? Are sub-Saharan Africans capable of creating a high technology society like the fabled Wakandans?

No, Botswana’s success is another example of Africa’s gold rush empires. As we have already seen, Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire was the richest man who ever lived. The wealth of the Ghana, Mali and Songhai Empires vanished when their fabled gold mines ran dry. Consider the fact that Mali was sported $300 billion worth of investment capital and is today one of the poorest countries on earth.

SHEEEIT … WE PEAKED

The future of Botswana is rapid decline for two reasons:

First, diamond production is now well past peak in Botswana. The boom that has sustained Botswana’s economy is coming to an end. Diamond revenues are projected to decline.

Second, Botswana is suffering from one of the most severe HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world. Incredibly, 1/4th of Botswana’s population is infected with AIDS.

THE SAN

Where will Botswana be 100 years from now? I can see Botswana retrograding to the Stone Age and the San people coming out of the Kalahari to repopulate the region. The Gods Must Be Crazy to bless Botswana with a diamond boom only to take it away with AIDS.

*Barbados is ranked #54 in the UN Human Development Index. The notion that racism, slavery, white supremacy and colonialism are responsible for Africa’s underdevelopment is laughable. Barbados, which is far more successful than any sub-Saharan African country, is one of few spots on earth where slavery was the harshest and lasted the longest. Both colonialism and white supremacy endured there far longer than in Africa. Did the legacy of slavery make Bajans the most successful blacks on earth?

** Fortunately, we have already seen that The Gambia’s former president Yahya Jammeh has discovered the herbal cure for AIDS.