7/25/2019 What is Political Economy Review
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Royal frican Society
ReviewAuthor(s): Paul NugentReview by: Paul NugentSource: African Affairs, Vol. 85, No. 338 (Jan., 1986), pp. 147-148Published by: on behalf ofOxford University Press Royal African SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/722233Accessed: 23-01-2016 04:38 UTC
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OOK REVIEWSOOK REVIEWS
Significantly,when Wheatcroft indshimselfon thin ice, he skates ast and writes
statements hat, for example,Africanresentmentat their position in contemporary
South Africa is really rather . . . ambiguous. They want to be rid of white
supremacyand yet they want to go on enjoying the benefits of a rich industrial
society. Soweto is not merely a grim compound: it is the most prosperous
black Africancity anywhere. This explainsthe continuing ailureof the African
Nationalist [sic] Congress . to stir up the blacks (p. 268). Not only is
the thought of Soweto as prosperous indefensible nonsense, present-day
developments n South Africagive the resounding ie to Wheatcroft s iews on the
ANC.
Institute f Commonzvealthtudies,
London JEANACQUESANHELTEN
What Is Political Economy? A Study of Social Theory and
Underdevelopment, by Martin Staniland. Yale University Press, New Haven
and London, 1985. xi + 229 pp. ISBN 0-300-03295-1 ,618 50 in UK.
As Stanilandbegins by noting, almost every other book these days carriesthe
term politicaleconomy n the title or sub-title. Often nothing specific s meant
by this, but usually it is intended to convey the idea that the book in question
hopes to show in some way an interplaybetweeneconomicand politicalprocesses.
Stanilandarguesthat, in spite of sometimesbeing accorded he status of a theory,
politicaleconomy s reallyonly a broad ield in which opposingtheoretical chools
compete. WhatIs PoliticalEconomy?,hen, is an exploration f how some of these
quite differentschools cope with the same problem of depicting the relationship
between economics and politics, ranging from theories that are deterministic o
those that are interactive. It covers neo-classicaleconomicsand the attemptsto
apply its assumptions to political behaviour; counter-theory reasserting the
primacy of politics; theories of internationalpolitical economy; and Marxism.
This considerationogetherof theories hat areoften so at odds as regards oncepts,
methodologyand values as to miss any point of contact, s largelywhat makes his
bookso appealing. Inevitably n a bookwith this breadthof focus, whatthe author
says about the content of the theories s fairly schematicand some of the critiques
are second-hand,but the result s as lucid and accurate s one could hope for.
A dominant heme of the book is the quite differentexpectationsand develop-
ment of theory in Western centres of learning and the Third World. In the
developed countries, Stanilandargues, theoreticaldebate has tended to produce
more complex interactive theories. Thus, neo-classical economics has been
criticized on the grounds that the Adam Smithian stress on the primacy of the
individualand the marketbears ittle relevance n the modernworld of large cor-
porationsand increasing tate nterventionism, ut criticshavemerelyattempted o
incorporatepower relationships none has apparentlygone so far as to write a
theory of political determinism. Theories that evolve in a Third World context,
by contrast, tend towards a greaterdegree of determinism,as manifested n the
growth of dependency heory. Stanilanddoes not really attemptto explain why
this should be so, althoughpresumably he idea is that Third Worldacademicsare
on the whole as much concerned to change the world as to describe it. The
divergent demandsof Third World theory resurface n Staniland sdiscussion of
Marxism. WithinWesternMarxism,dissatisfactionwith the instrumentalist iew
of politics n the classical raditionhas led to an assertionof the relativeautonomyof
Significantly,when Wheatcroft indshimselfon thin ice, he skates ast and writes
statements hat, for example,Africanresentmentat their position in contemporary
South Africa is really rather . . . ambiguous. They want to be rid of white
supremacyand yet they want to go on enjoying the benefits of a rich industrial
society. Soweto is not merely a grim compound: it is the most prosperous
black Africancity anywhere. This explainsthe continuing ailureof the African
Nationalist [sic] Congress . to stir up the blacks (p. 268). Not only is
the thought of Soweto as prosperous indefensible nonsense, present-day
developments n South Africagive the resounding ie to Wheatcroft s iews on the
ANC.
Institute f Commonzvealthtudies,
London JEANACQUESANHELTEN
What Is Political Economy? A Study of Social Theory and
Underdevelopment, by Martin Staniland. Yale University Press, New Haven
and London, 1985. xi + 229 pp. ISBN 0-300-03295-1 ,618 50 in UK.
As Stanilandbegins by noting, almost every other book these days carriesthe
term politicaleconomy n the title or sub-title. Often nothing specific s meant
by this, but usually it is intended to convey the idea that the book in question
hopes to show in some way an interplaybetweeneconomicand politicalprocesses.
Stanilandarguesthat, in spite of sometimesbeing accorded he status of a theory,
politicaleconomy s reallyonly a broad ield in which opposingtheoretical chools
compete. WhatIs PoliticalEconomy?,hen, is an exploration f how some of these
quite differentschools cope with the same problem of depicting the relationship
between economics and politics, ranging from theories that are deterministic o
those that are interactive. It covers neo-classicaleconomicsand the attemptsto
apply its assumptions to political behaviour; counter-theory reasserting the
primacy of politics; theories of internationalpolitical economy; and Marxism.
This considerationogetherof theories hat areoften so at odds as regards oncepts,
methodologyand values as to miss any point of contact, s largelywhat makes his
bookso appealing. Inevitably n a bookwith this breadthof focus, whatthe author
says about the content of the theories s fairly schematicand some of the critiques
are second-hand,but the result s as lucid and accurate s one could hope for.
A dominant heme of the book is the quite differentexpectationsand develop-
ment of theory in Western centres of learning and the Third World. In the
developed countries, Stanilandargues, theoreticaldebate has tended to produce
more complex interactive theories. Thus, neo-classical economics has been
criticized on the grounds that the Adam Smithian stress on the primacy of the
individualand the marketbears ittle relevance n the modernworld of large cor-
porationsand increasing tate nterventionism, ut criticshavemerelyattempted o
incorporatepower relationships none has apparentlygone so far as to write a
theory of political determinism. Theories that evolve in a Third World context,
by contrast, tend towards a greaterdegree of determinism,as manifested n the
growth of dependency heory. Stanilanddoes not really attemptto explain why
this should be so, althoughpresumably he idea is that Third Worldacademicsare
on the whole as much concerned to change the world as to describe it. The
divergent demandsof Third World theory resurface n Staniland sdiscussion of
Marxism. WithinWesternMarxism,dissatisfactionwith the instrumentalist iew
of politics n the classical raditionhas led to an assertionof the relativeautonomyof
This content downloaded from 103.231.241.233 on Sat, 23 Jan 2016 04:38:21 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/25/2019 What is Political Economy Review
3/3
14848
AFRICANAFFAIRSFRICANAFFAIRS
the state and a more complex account of economic and political processes. But
within a Third World context, the further issue of the relationshipbetween
domestic and external orces is raised. While some have adhered o the logic of
orthodoxMarxismand have portrayeddomesticpolitical orces as merelya reflec-
tion of the demandsof international apital,Third World intellectualshave often
sought a theorythat gives some role to domesticclasses. The result, according o
Staniland, s that works such as that of Shivji are often an inversionof Marxist
analysis,vergingon politicism.
All of this gives plenty of food for thought, but one feels slightly cheatedby the
conclusion to the book. Having led his readerson a great trek through theory,
Staniland eavesthem with the followingproposition: s long as there s a varietyof
cultures, here will be a varietyof theories,and because hese will containa variety
of valuesand assumptions,one can criticize he theoriesbut never choose between
them. The readermight be excused or wonderinghow culturalvarietyhas stolen
centre-stagewhen, if anything,the book shows the strongestcorrelationbetween
theory and levels of development,which cuts across culture. Similarly, a new
book by Blomstromand Hettne (DevelopmentTheory n Transition) hows how
. . .
qulte slmllarviews on dependencyhave emergedacross the Third World, some-
times independently. Secondly, it is difficultto see why underlyingvalues and
assumptions hould insulate heory. Marxismhas a strongvalue content,but the
validity of its analysis(and its values) can surely be assessed in the light of how
successfully t copes with reality. It is true of course that no single theory has
managed o do justice to all the complexitiesof human society but this is another
argument, besides which there is a clear distinction between theory that is
inherently limited (one thinks of public choice ) and theory that possesses the
concepts but has not mastered he equation. In spite of this, What Is Political
Ecorlomy? ill be of interest o a wide audience,not leastto Africanistswho will find
many amiliardebatesset in the contextof the problematic f the book.
Schoolof Oriental ndAfricanStudies,
London PAUL UGENT
And Night Fell, by Molefe Pheto. London, Allison and Busby, 1983. 218
PP ?8 95
It says something or the impactthat this book has had that it has alreadybeen
snappedup as a paperbaekby the HeinemannAfricanWriters Series (No. 258,
1985)within two yearsof its originalpublieation. This will no doubt give it wider
eireulationbut the originalLondon publishers,Allison and Busby, are to be eon-
gratulated or reeognizingdistinetion n what could easily have been a predietable
catalogueof poliee brutality. Just as too many images of starving children or
urbanviolence ean numb the average elevisionviewer ssensibilityso, regrettably
but it wouldbe wrongnot to admit t, the praeticed eader f SouthAfrican iterature
and watcherof South Afrieanplays can be over-exposed o the chillingly eandid
prisoneell interrogation r the screamof agonyas the eleetrodesare applied o the
testicles. These are ignoblereflectionsbut I believe them to be true. We can all
build up a resistance o humansuffering.
It is thereforewith a sense of debt to Molefe Pheto that I reviewAnd Night Fell,
for he re-awakensn me, and I am sure n all his readers,a sense of immediacy t the
horrorof South Africa sofficialrepression. His book is sub-titled Memoirsof a
PoliticalPrisoner n South Africa . It is a recordof 281 days spent in detention
the state and a more complex account of economic and political processes. But
within a Third World context, the further issue of the relationshipbetween
domestic and external orces is raised. While some have adhered o the logic of
orthodoxMarxismand have portrayeddomesticpolitical orces as merelya reflec-
tion of the demandsof international apital,Third World intellectualshave often
sought a theorythat gives some role to domesticclasses. The result, according o
Staniland, s that works such as that of Shivji are often an inversionof Marxist
analysis,vergingon politicism.
All of this gives plenty of food for thought, but one feels slightly cheatedby the
conclusion to the book. Having led his readerson a great trek through theory,
Staniland eavesthem with the followingproposition: s long as there s a varietyof
cultures, here will be a varietyof theories,and because hese will containa variety
of valuesand assumptions,one can criticize he theoriesbut never choose between
them. The readermight be excused or wonderinghow culturalvarietyhas stolen
centre-stagewhen, if anything,the book shows the strongestcorrelationbetween
theory and levels of development,which cuts across culture. Similarly, a new
book by Blomstromand Hettne (DevelopmentTheory n Transition) hows how
. . .
qulte slmllarviews on dependencyhave emergedacross the Third World, some-
times independently. Secondly, it is difficultto see why underlyingvalues and
assumptions hould insulate heory. Marxismhas a strongvalue content,but the
validity of its analysis(and its values) can surely be assessed in the light of how
successfully t copes with reality. It is true of course that no single theory has
managed o do justice to all the complexitiesof human society but this is another
argument, besides which there is a clear distinction between theory that is
inherently limited (one thinks of public choice ) and theory that possesses the
concepts but has not mastered he equation. In spite of this, What Is Political
Ecorlomy? ill be of interest o a wide audience,not leastto Africanistswho will find
many amiliardebatesset in the contextof the problematic f the book.
Schoolof Oriental ndAfricanStudies,
London PAUL UGENT
And Night Fell, by Molefe Pheto. London, Allison and Busby, 1983. 218
PP ?8 95
It says something or the impactthat this book has had that it has alreadybeen
snappedup as a paperbaekby the HeinemannAfricanWriters Series (No. 258,
1985)within two yearsof its originalpublieation. This will no doubt give it wider
eireulationbut the originalLondon publishers,Allison and Busby, are to be eon-
gratulated or reeognizingdistinetion n what could easily have been a predietable
catalogueof poliee brutality. Just as too many images of starving children or
urbanviolence ean numb the average elevisionviewer ssensibilityso, regrettably
but it wouldbe wrongnot to admit t, the praeticed eader f SouthAfrican iterature
and watcherof South Afrieanplays can be over-exposed o the chillingly eandid
prisoneell interrogation r the screamof agonyas the eleetrodesare applied o the
testicles. These are ignoblereflectionsbut I believe them to be true. We can all
build up a resistance o humansuffering.
It is thereforewith a sense of debt to Molefe Pheto that I reviewAnd Night Fell,
for he re-awakensn me, and I am sure n all his readers,a sense of immediacy t the
horrorof South Africa sofficialrepression. His book is sub-titled Memoirsof a
PoliticalPrisoner n South Africa . It is a recordof 281 days spent in detention
This content downloaded from 103.231.241.233 on Sat, 23 Jan 2016 04:38:21 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp