The Oil Drum: Europe

I would suggest for TOD to get someone versed in political-economy to maybe contribute a little bit to relevant articles ...

I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘versed in political economy’. I hope you don’t mean to include the pundits who write for ‘The Economist’ and who, some 30 years ago, predicted that Mugabe would bring peace and prosperity to Zimbabwe, or who ten years ago predicted that South Africa would become an ‘African success story’, or who can’t write an essay on any African country without including the expression ‘sliver of hope’.

My hunch is that the more ‘versed’ people are in political economy the more bullshit they are likely to spatter about. If you want to know more about Africa, ask somebody who has lived there.

From ‘The Economist’, 8 May 1980:

Mr Mugabe, unlike most African leaders, is in a position to deliver on his election promises of peace and prosperity. Peace is already delicately at hand; prosperity could rapidly blossom […] If the rate of growth that the economy clocked up before the imposition of sanctions can be restored (and that means keeping the whites confident and investing), the country could soon be one of the richest in black Africa.

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&s...