Advantages And Disadvantages Of Neo Mercantilism

Introduction

Economics are an essential part of all states and as it is commonly in international relations, states with strong economies are in always in a position to mould what the economics of the world. With that being said it is safe to say that all state actors strive to constantly and consistently improve their economies and one way of achieving this goal is through the practice of mercantilism. Mercantilism is a theory that has been in existence prior the classical economic era. Mercantilists see the international economy as an arena of conflict between opposing national interests, rather than an area of cooperation and mutual gain Jackson & Sorenson (2013:162), states which employ this theory believe that the prosperity of a nation

Neo-mercantilism when intensely scrutinized can be exposed as a modern form of colonization by China on Sub-Sharan Africans countries. This is evident with the trade relations between China and Sub-Saharan if not all African countries. “Following the first China–Africa forum in Beijing in 2000, bilateral trade grew to more than $20bn over the four years to the end of 2004, and has expanded year on year ever since. African manufacturing has not increased its share of export during the period” Brown and Lyons (2009:2)
The trade China-Africa trade has a negative impact on the domestic formal commercial trade of the African states that trade with China. Street trade has significantly risen since the initiation of the China-Africa trade. “The cheap goods which China supplies allow citizens of these African countries to buy and sell. Given the historical importance of trade in many African communities, a major focus for this growth has been in commerce, with street trade now economically significant, and a key source of new jobs for the urban poor” Brown and Lyons

“We must unite for economic viability, first of all, then to recover our economic wealth in Africa, so that our resources and capacity for development will bring prosperity for us and benefit for the rest of the world” Suleman Chebe (2001:84). The general feeling from the above extract is that Africa needs to work together on an undisputed common goal which is to recapture the economies.
"Africa is one continent, one people, and one nation. The notion that in order to have a nation it is necessary for there to be a common language, a common territory and common culture has failed to stand the test of time or the scrutiny of scientific definition of objective reality... The community of economic life is the major feature within a nation, and it is the economy which holds together the people living in a territory. It is on this basis that the new Africans recognise themselves as potentially one nation, whose dominion is the entire African continent” Nkuruma (1980). From an economic perspective Kwame Nkuruma focused on the “economic freedom for Ghana, and African emancipation and unity.” Kwame Nkuruma