Technology and Corruption

In global development circles, we have consistently heard and felt some particular words, phrases and paradigms over the past 50 years. The correct live mix of these words, phrases and paradigms determines and measures a lot about survival, existence, prosperity, cost of living, and standard of living. Such concepts phrases and indicators include sustainable development, institutions, strengthening of institutions, capacity building, dependency, reduction of dependency, good governance, leadership, market system, foreign direct investment (FDI), debts, debt reduction, debt cancellation, stock exchange, globalisation, trade, savings, taxation, remittances, brain drain, corruption, reduction of corruption, safe heavens, tax heavens, secrecy jurisdictions, offshore financial centres, production, distribution, imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, export oriented, import oriented, manufacturing, industrialisation, primary products, commodity, balance of payments, budget deficit, IMF, World Bank, IBRD, toxic assets, hedge funds, investors, Capital, cheap labour, freedom, centralisation, planning, interest rate, GDP, recession, depression, mismanagement, debt relief, democracy, natural resources, and technology. It is the mode of combination, mix and measure of these variables, words and phrases by a country in terms of level, degree, acceptance, prevalence, rejection, availability, and existence, that conditions the way the country is perceived and classified. The meaning and value that some of these words, phrases, and variables carry and convey, make up the necessary conditions for progress and modernisation, while the rest are sufficient conditions that create and ensure completeness of the system. Writers and analysts attempt to identify the pattern of convergence of these variables to determine how they have evolved over time to condition and affect our lives. Their conclusions rightly or wrongly lead to the categorisation of societies into developed or underdeveloped/developing, civilised or uncivilised, northern or southern hemisphere. These inevitably produce frameworks and models for analysing socio-economic problems. There are the modernisation and dependency groups. This book is a synthesis of the models and a presentation of a comparative analysis of the process of development in both developed and developing countries. My analysis points to the fact that no model could lead to better life, prosperity, and reduced poverty without including technology as core component. The argument is that all societies that have successfully developed have all embraced and activated their own variant of technology. Put in another way- no development process is irreversible without proper technology. Technology remains the common factor, denominator, and independent variable. My position is that free market, centralised systems, capitalism, socialism, capital, infrastructure, are all products of technology. I argue that it is no more an issue of ideology or system, it is about what works. Why are extreme territories of capitalism or socialism able to achieve developed status? Without technology the existence of any system or ideology would be zero, superficial, artificial, unsustainable, unreal, and without impact. For any society to properly develop it must recreate the processes of industrial revolution of 16th century in its own way, but with common target of irreversible development. I argue that there is absolutely no short cut, or queue jumping. Every society must proactively recreate the process. Every society must innovate or originate its own manuscript or copy and/or adopt/adapt other people’s manuscripts. One of these must happen. This is exactly what China has done and is doing, and has achieved the status of the second economic power of the world. It is evident that China has maintained a rigid and centralised political system, but at same time, successfully adopted a liberal techno-economy. To avoid the risk of repeating myself, I wish to put it this way- technology is the instrument for labour; technology tills the land, and technology generates the needed capital. The powerhouse of any modern developed society is science and technology. The secret motto of all societies in the western/northern hemisphere is technology, technology, and technology. Most references made in this book are to modern times. But it was rudimentary science and technology that sustained those societies in early times. Technology is the crankshaft of every society – ancient and modern. In essence, basic emphasis is not on factors of production but on means of production. No society is barren, but without technology tuned to an environment the society assumes barrenness. From stretches of deserts to tropical forests and vegetations, to extremes of the North and South poles, and even coldest and hottest parts of the earth; on every inch and dept of world’s land and sea, river, ocean, there are great potentials and adaptations only realisable and achievable through relevant technology. Countries that do not have their own manuscripts and are not seriously working towards acquiring some, can only hope to be content with crumbles of others’ technological prowess. Such crumbles may even include the imported machines, assembly plants, and other important electronic goods that make life worthwhile. The presence of these goods in non technology societies does not make them technological places. Nevertheless, countries hosting such imported technologies could start copying, adopting/adapting the modes of operation of the imported machines in their possession. This will be a descent and good start. Technology is so vital and inevitable that the first countries that acquired science and technology do not want others to do the same. They seriously discourage others directly or indirectly from assuming the same status. It is the top secret of their power. There is no single western power that has ever or intends to advise developing countries to go for technology. That will be suicidal and neutralising their own power. Instead they (western powers) advise leaders of developing countries to stop stealing the Aids they released to them, and to also intensify their efforts in agriculture. Even when developing countries insist on mechanising their agriculture, developed countries send their tractors and silos. We are familiar with the theory of comparative advantage which simply tells developing countries; especially African countries to adopt the production of cash crops and other commodities and raw materials. This theory is in the least derogatory and indirectly racist. It is also most worrying because such theories are left in the curriculum of schools in developing countries thereby tuning and conditioning the lives of generations after generations in line with the nonsense. Most worrisome is that developed countries put these theories into practice. For example, they buy these raw materials at a price which they determine, then use it to produce finished products which they send back to developing countries at very high prices. We all know this and it is an old trick. It is what I call Cocoa for Chocolate and palm oil for Soap, formula. In reality, the principle of comparative advantage is deceptive. This is because, though enormous quantity of agric products, cash crops, and other natural resources are bound in most developing countries, they (the developing countries) are neither experts nor specialists in exploiting them. Any meaningful production of primary goods in Africa is done hands on by foreign “experts”, and with foreign technologies. At the best, the host countries are the exporters. This is the situation spanning from colonialism to date. Consequently, the idea that they should concentrate in producing primary products is misleading. They produce nothing. They are just common exporters. The idea of first recommending free market, Aid, Bond Market, good governan