{"id":167,"date":"2026-05-29T08:41:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=167"},"modified":"2026-05-29T08:41:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:41:59","slug":"book-review-busting-african-delusions-by-lipton-matthews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=167","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: \u2018Busting African Delusions\u2019 by Lipton Matthews"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lipton Matthews is a Jamaican-born, UK-trained academic with multiple writing credentials across conservative and libertarian websites. I first encountered him after reading his excellent reporting on the conservative, free-enterprise, pro-public safety reforms emerging in his home country.<\/p>

Read more Morning Greatness: Treasury Plans for $250 Bill with Trump\u2019s Portrait, Signature<\/a><\/p>\n

I contacted him about submitting articles to the Mises Institute, and he then interviewed me about my first article for American Thinker, a report that debunked anti-Zionists\u2019 perverse efforts to exploit the USS Liberty.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then he told me about his latest book, Busting African Delusions: Human Capital, Institutions, and the Path to Progress<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The book starts with a major miss but hits the target in the end. Matthews starts with genetic factors before exploring broader cultural issues in Africa. Later on, he refutes the feel-good arguments from the Left that blame Africa\u2019s downfall on Western expropriation. Throughout the rest of the book, Matthews offers comprehensive solutions and strategies to turn Africa around.<\/p>\n

A robust defense of free market capitalism and rule of law reforms is urgent now more than ever. Despite the long legacy of economic and cultural thriving from economic liberalization and rule of law governance, a new fight is emerging over whether countries should adopt communist or capitalist economic systems. From the rise of libertarian Javier Milei in Argentina to quasi-socialist Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom and the growing left-wing tilt of South Korea vs. the restoration of economic freedom in Japan, the arguments over liberalism or collectivism have never been more heated.<\/p>\n

With the reemerging discussion on the rights and wrongs of free enterprise and its costs and benefits, scholars and commentators inevitably turn to Africa. The continent is still poor, still struggling with numerous metrics. If you take out the IMF list of countries\u2019 business friendliness, almost every African country is at the bottom. Dictatorship, corruption, and malfeasance are still all too often the norm in several African countries.<\/p>\n

So, why is Africa so poor? In the first 50 pages of his book, Matthews explores the race and IQ issues relating to African populations. They have lower IQs, according to numerous studies, and the current education system is not engaging with the students based on their true possibilities.<\/p>\n

Racialists and demographic fatalists love to point to those studies to suggest that black people are just biologically inferior. In contrast, leftists will contend that the legacies of colonialism and imperialism robbed Africans, who are otherwise well-endowed, of their divine opportunity to thrive and rule.<\/p>\n

These arguments, despite the extensive research behind them, remain suspect. IQ is a malleable statistic, which even modern-day researchers like Charles Murray have recognized can change. Thomas Sowell has also written extensively on this subject in his latest work, Social Justice Fallacies. <\/em><\/p>\n

One of Matthews\u2019 suggestions for African development was particularly disturbing:<\/p>\n

International philanthropists should fund research and application of genetic technologies designed for safe, ethical use in African populations.<\/p>\n

What are \u201cgenetic technologies\u201d?<\/p>\n

Based on a cursory web search, here\u2019s what I found:<\/p>\n

Genetic technology encompasses the tools and techniques used to understand, manipulate, and edit the DNA of living organisms. It drives vital innovations across medicine, agriculture, and environmental conservation.<\/p>

Read more Why the SAVE Act Matters<\/a><\/p>\n

The solution to Africa\u2019s problems should not depend on DNA editing, but cultural change, attitude adjustment, and proper investment and reform.<\/p>\n

Putting aside his extensive IQ discourses, Matthews does a masterful job of debunking the lies that European colonialism ruined Africa. He provides ample evidence of prior development on the continent due to indigenous factors, like kinship ties, tribal connections, and local networks. He reveals the intricacies (and failures) of African life before European colonization. I found these sections particularly intriguing, as so much history about Africa has long been neglected in public education.<\/p>\n

He outlines a thorough history demonstrating that African kingdoms had limited systems of trade, transportation, and exchange. They had financial systems in place, but because they focused on communal ties, family relationships, and tribal interests, all of these factors inhibited opportunities for African wealth. Successful institutions like bureaucracies and other institutions did not develop in Africa the way that they expanded in Europe, Asia, or the Western-based American countries.<\/p>\n

He argues persuasively that European countries did not develop their industry, wealth, and imperial strength through the exploitation of the African continent, either. He effectively points out the success of European innovations, including the development of fundamental institutions such as government agencies and banking firms. Matthews\u2019 arguments debunk the feel-good \u201cwoke\u201d arguments, which have played up Africa\u2019s perennial victimhood. These reports are welcome departures from much of modern academic literature, which attempts to explain why African countries remain so bankrupt and backward compared to other countries.<\/p>\n

While most academics review the problems of harassing or depriving countries of wealth and opportunity, Matthews deserves credit for exploring realistic, pragmatic solutions that can transform the African continent into an economic powerhouse that rivals Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n

It was refreshing to read his denunciation of remittance funding as a reliable source. African migrants fleeing the continent and reaping benefits in foreign countries, only to send the money for their families to consume at home instead of for investment and production.<\/p>\n

Further to his credit, Matthews is not afraid to point out the cultural problems in Africa that foment the corruption. African societies have long placed communal living, kinship ties, and regard for the local group ahead of individual liberty or general justice and fairness. One popular quotation among Ghanaians exemplifies the self-limiting and corrupting mentality of many African societies:<\/p>\n

If your brother is in the kitchen, you do not go hungry.<\/p>\n

The implication is that family is supposed to take care of family, even if your kin is working in the government. Corruption becomes inevitable, especially when it is considered rude and improper for a civil servant to refuse a gift from friends or family.<\/p>\n

For the remainder of the book, Matthews focuses on key reforms to take Africa from backward to best:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. \n
        \n
      1. \n
          \n
        1. 1. End foreign aid and foster innovation.<\/li>\n
        2. 2. Investments in education and institutions. Overhaul workforce training and job programs.<\/li>\n
        3. 3. Legal stability, industrial coordination, and protection of private property\u2014intellectual and tangible\u2014are essential.<\/li>\n
        4. 4. Pro-market and liberalization reforms are a must. Across sub-Saharan Africa, entrepreneurs face governing boards and relentless permitting requirements before they do business. All of this fosters a culture of corruption and dysfunction. When economic liberty becomes the norm, African prosperity will surely follow.<\/li>\n
        5. 5. Incentivize foreign capital. Foreign migrants can bring businesses to Africa, and they hire local workers. Available land should invite more investment, as well.<\/li>\n
        6. 6. Property rights\u2014countries that respect the rule of law and allow private ownership, including descendants of white colonizers, have witnessed improved economic growth.<\/li>\n
        7. 7. Reduce the tyranny of kinship and redistributive wealth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          In short, Matthews persuasively argues that African societies can modernize and Westernize, but they must avoid the decadent wokeness that has taught Western thinkers and leaders to despise their own history and accomplishments. Instead, African nations should adopt the thriving principles, programs, and policies that cause greater economic flourishing in Europe and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

          Aside from the IQ discussions, for a book that outlines the causes of Africa\u2019s economic decline but also offers solutions, Matthews\u2019 work Busting African Delusions <\/em>is a worthwhile read.<\/p>

          Read more The Next DNI Must Finish the Job and Eliminate the ODNI<\/a><\/p>\n

          <\/p>\n

          <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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