>afrikans created capitalism?!? where? if you
>happen to find an example
>of this please share, but
>before you do read the
>ayi kwei armah post.

Capitalism: A system of exchanging some form of currency for goods, services and/or commodities. Also a system whereby people can accumulate wealth in the form of goods, services, property, etc.

Our ancestors sold gold to the europeans = capitalism
Our ancestors trade systems = capitalism
Ancient Pharoah's of egypt: gold, their possessions, their kingdoms = Capitalism

I think you see Capitalism as a system that exploits the weak for profit, while I see exploitation as the actions of evil men...not a function of capitalism itself.

No matter what kind of government/culture/belief system you have, you will have people exchanging X for Y....you will have people accumulating X so that they can acquire Y. As long as you have that.......you have capitalism.

A janitor pushing a Broom to make $10/hour and Bill Gates are BOTH capitalists......Bill Gates is just better at it.

How you make money OR X so that you can acquire Y is important, E.g. Ethics and how you treat people....do you take and then give? Or do you give and then Take.

John Audette, not a famous Internet Businessmen A'La Jeff Bezos of Amazon....but a very successful one in his own right. Particularly since most people are copying his Business Techniques.....and all of his Businesses were profitable and never needed to go public....anyway, I digress........he said something that I've never forgetten "To build a successful Business, you have to GIVE then Take"

Give then take.......that means that you never really took in the first place. You GAVE something and earned something in return.

Capitalism isn't evil by nature, evil men can make it so.......

Furthermore, Africans/Afrikans/Black folks.....did it first.



>>>It may not be the Afrikan philosophy that Solarus and Utamaharo preach, but it will help the Black community and that's what's important.
>
>i thnk you are sincere, but
>listen to history and elders
>who've seen this tried and
>failed. you pointed out that
>we truly haven't arrived yet
>economically, you're right. but think
>faster and farther, accelerate your
>ideas, and see possible flaws.
>what we "preach" is success
>without compromise. not success with
>the possiblility of failure/asimilation/etc.

Tried and Failed? No offense but you can't be serious, failure doesn't mean you don't stop trying.

Success without comprimise? Comprising what? If Blacks build economic strength ethically and take care of their families and break the cycle of generational poverty and all that leads to...what's the problem.

A cultural one that doesn't want capitalism?

People are diverse, not everyone will EVEN want to do things your way. It's hard to convince people to do otherwise without the threat of say eternal damnation or convincing them they are hurting people.

Success without the possibility of failure?.......again....no offense, but you can't be serious. I think you get this from people who've said something along the lines of: "that what enslaves you, cannot make you free" or something to that effect. That's wrong......if you take control of what enslaves you....it can't enslave you if you control it. In other words, Blacks cannot be economic victims/slaves if they control their economics. E.g. If I own my house, I don't care if my neighboorhood is gentrified....I'll benefit and I won't be forced out like people who are renting.

Take it further, economics did not enslave Blacks so many years ago...PEOPLE did......separate the actions of man from.....from goals/concepts/resources.

Take it even further, lack of power is the reason we were enslaved....lack of power to smite one's enemies. What's the biggest source of power in this day and age? MONEY.

"Elders who have tried and failed" economic empowerment? Irrelevant, not enough Blacks have reached that point to make a judgement....so saying that even though we haven't arrived that my thoughts on economic empowerment and empowerment in everyone's own way will fail.....is a big premature.

Everyone won't/doesn't/doesn't have to think like you, what people need to think about is taking control of their lives and having the ability to make choices......on how to live.

Slavery ended less then 140 years ago, the civil rights act was signed 38 years ago. At this point, what we do know is that our economics are effed.......we know how others have improved their standing and economics....so let's do that. It's too early to say that things will or won't fail......nor is pointing out that some people don't give back relevant to judging the validity of a strategy....if wealthy Blacks aren't giving back it doesn't mean Blacks shouldn't attain wealth....it means you shouldn't attain wealth and not give back.


There is no such thing as success without comprimise or possibility of failure.......or a monolothic ideaology to use to accomplish a goal.....the New Afrikan-American culture will evolve based on several ideas from several people.....not ONE idea or way of doing things. The hope is that there is an aggregate goal or idea, right now I'm talking about economic empowerment...and if 10 people have 10 ways to get there that are ethical...GOOD.....that's the way it should be.

>
>
>>>Afrika isn't a monolith, it's the most diverse place on earth....there are diverging ideas and ideologies there as well. Let's accept it and move on.....we all want the same stuff in the end.
>
>not everybody, remember, different people have
>different standards, some none at
>all. someone wanting money and
>power will pollute an ocean
>without thinking twice, another would
>build a mosque while the
>bulders and community finds it
>hard to feed itself. remeber
>mistakes of the past and
>build upon them.
>
>>>Afrika isn't a monolith, it's the most diverse place on earth...
>
>africa the continent and afrikan thought
>are two totally different things.

Afrikan thought is NOT a monolithic concept, they are vastly different religions, ideologies, philosophies and perspectives on the continent.

Just ask people who were born there, live there.....Africa the monolith is something that Afrikan-Americans have created.....I know you disagree, but if you travel to africa and/or really talk to people from different countries you'll see pronounced differences.

Not everyone wants exactly the same thing, but it's smarter to push people towards helping themselves, being more self sufficient, not being in a position of weakness......then trying to create a homogenus Black Nation.....it just won't work......it's impossible.

You control extremes that hurt everyone in a way that most people agree with.....e.g. environmental issues.....and leave the middle alone.

I think you're seeing this as ONE way, a concrete plan that has to be followed and you already know that won't work......that's why you work and function and build success in the western system you hate.

Besides, we all know that it has roots in Afrikan cultures anyway.


Peace,






M2