> However something else is also a fact. That growth over the last 3 centuries in almost every area catapulted Europeans to incredible, almost seemingly impossible levels of economic success with respect to previous history.
Have you looked deeper into what fueled this "incredible/impossible" growth you're so proud of?
It was the disruption, colonization and then plunder of the resources of other societies around the world, which hit Africa the hardest.
The Europeans at the time invented the gun, which gave them lethal military advantage over other cultures that still used spears and swords for warfare.
This, coupled with their ruthless drive to amass wealth led to ridiculous situations where an army of just 50 gun totting soldiers could slaughter 1000 warriors in just 30 minutes.
And slaughter they did, and after the slaughter came the plunder. Not only their minerals and crops, but their people as well.
Many of their healthy, strong young African men and women were sold off into slavery in the middle east, Europe and Americas.
And lets be honest: this plunder and disruption was very easy for them to do, since the Europeans of the time did not really consider Africans human.
Maybe the Asians, but definitely not the Africans. Many were treated worse than horses or dogs.
Go read up on what king Leopold of Belgium did at the Congo.
If you still could not work hard or fast enough after all the whippings, your fingers, the hands and limbs would be chopped off.
This is called trauma. Whole generations of African communities were brutalized and traumatized just 100 years ago.
If you don't know untreated trauma does to the human psyche, or how it can be passed from generation to generation, go ask your local therapist.
And I'm sorry African society doesn't seem to be recovering fast enough for you, maybe they are not just as "strong/civilized" as you are.
> This success has also been incredibly specific geographically, with the Far East only coming up in the last few decades, a delay I attribute to the retardation that was Communism.
Really? What metrics are you using to measure this success? You seem to be using per capita income, which means you don't get simple economics. You're basically saying that someone earning 1000 US dollars in New York is on par with someone earning the same in rural Texas. The United Nations HDI index paints a very different picture, putting Africa more or less at par with Asia, and Europe on top. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Dev....
> Western media constantly harps on positive news from the frontier.
> Western media has a very strong bias against negative news about Africa for political reasons.
Hahaha! Don't make me laugh. Whats most likely happening here is the few positive stories you've stumbled upon have just blown your mind and worldview, so you think its happening evrywhere because those are the ones you remember. For every one positive, you'll find another 20 negative from that same western media outlet.
> We have to call a spade a spade. Africa is the most backward place in the world. Most growth that exists is obviously non-organic, relying on extensive networks of foreign
> coordination and siloed off resource extraction. This is an entire Continent that has not experienced an agricultural revolution let alone an industrial one. The level of
> corruption is hard to comprehend because it is the norm and not the exception.
Once again, whats the metric for measuring the backwardness of a place? If its the western way of life and values, I agree with you 100%. And I don't think it would be a good idea for Africans to wholesomely adopt all those values, just the ones that work. Understand this: in terms of natural and human resources, Africa is the richest most abundant planet on this continent. In terms of consumption of these resources, its people are the last. Why? For the same reason that the CEO of a successful company earns in one day what his/her personal secretary earns in a year. Is it fair? No, but that's just how the world works: wealth brings power, and that power is used to enforce and maintain the status quo. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. As it is for individuals, so is it for nations. The CEO's of African nations are its leaders, and they work with the CEOs global corporations to continue the plunder of the continent. There are thousands of Africans who have enough money to buy you, your mother and the whole street you live in; and live a life of untold luxury and comfort that would put yours to shame, right in the heart of Africa. There partners in corruption and plunder are the leaders of western governments and corporations. The same corporations that own the media, and YOUR 18th century views about Africa, which is why I find your comment about positive western media hilarious. That's just good old fashioned prejudice and ignorance.
Your great grandfather had an excuse for his ignorance, you don't. Go find out where the coffee you drink comes from (hint: its not from a pre-agrigarian revolution society)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_coffee_pr...