Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism

Former colonial powers like Britain and France have worked to ensure that the monetary zones of Africa are “centered on London and Paris” (220). Most trade in Africa occurs within the sterling (British) and franc (French) zones. Nkrumah credits his decision to set up an independent central bank in Ghana as important to his country’s success. The sterling area is administered by the East African Currency Board and its connections to the British currency can hinder expansion. The big British banks have immense resources and many links with industrialists.

Nkrumah lists the extent to which foreign banks are involved in the banks of African countries. French banks have adapted their polices to retain their influence in newly-independent countries. Nkrumah believes that “the existence of separate monetary zones is having a harmful effect on the growth of trade in Africa” (227). He believes that African countries should work together to form an African Common Market for unified economic development. The foundation of the African Development Bank in 1964 was a significant step forward in this respect.

World War II prompted a rush of scientific innovation specifically toward destructive means, as well as “faster and more rational means of mass production” (228). The tremendous leap forward in technological innovation has continued in countries like the United States. The development of synthetic substances has emerged as a threat to the industrial extraction of natural products, such as metals or oil.

Nkrumah suggests that an accord has been reached between these two competing forces to ensure economic success at the expense of the consumer. A “small circle of trusts” (230) has emerged between the world’s leading rubber companies, for example, which produce both natural and synthetic rubber around the world. They compete ferociously among themselves, but newcomers to the industry face tough competition for entry. A company such as I.C.I., for example, has issued capital which “is several times larger than the budget of most African States” (232). I.C.I. has many connections to Western capital and other companies in similar industries.

Many Western companies are turning to Africa for “cheap labor, tax concessions and supporting government policies” (233), which leads to higher profits. American miners, for example, earn an average of $2.70 an hour, while African miners in South Africa earn less than 10 cents. Rather than develop their economies as necessary, Nkrumah suggests, many African countries offer concessions to Western companies which “sustain and enlarge the industries and economies of the imperialist countries” (234).

These western companies have no interest in improving African economies, while the meager profit-shares offered to African governments are a fraction of the profits that are sent back to Western financial interests. These companies are more interested in profit than in the needs of African people. If an African country attempts to levy tax against these companies, “they draw resentment that is echoed in dire warnings in the imperialist press that they will stifle foreign investment if they continue such encroachments upon expatriate rights” (237).

Nkrumah believes that, to halt foreign interference in developing countries, “it is necessary to study, understand, expose and actively combat neo-colonialism in whatever guise it may appear” (239). Neo-colonialists operate across political, religious, economic, ideological, and cultural spheres. The wave of independence movements has forced imperialists to change their tactics, if not their aims, which becomes neo-colonialism.

The United States, in a post-World War II world, is the foremost neo-colonialist state. The United States’ influence is felt everywhere, Nkrumah suggests, thanks to “a loose amorphous grouping of individuals and agencies drawn from many parts of the visible government” (240). This is known as the Invisible Government, a well-financed network of hundreds of thousands of people which exists due to the status of the United States as a superpower and the existence of the Soviet Union as a rival. Listing the influence of the Invisible Government, Nkrumah cites many examples from around the world, including the CIA’s involvement in the murder of Patrice Lumumba. The aim of the Invisible Government is “to achieve colonialism in fact while preaching independence” (241).

The Invisible Government employs economic measures, such as high interest rates and foreign aid, to exert influence. American capital backs financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which use foreign aid to control economic policy in developing countries. Loans come with exploitative conditions attached. Similarly, the Invisible Government has infiltrated the international trade union movement to make it hostile (or apathetic) to the idea of anti-colonial liberation. More pointedly, a “round of coups d’état or would-be coups” (245) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have been backed by imperialist powers in countries which elect promising anti-colonial leaders.

Even cultural institutions such as Hollywood movies preach “colonial heritage” (246) in propaganda form. Nkrumah notes the “flood of anti-liberation propaganda” (247), as well as the use of religious evangelism as an anti-liberation movement. The American Peace Corps has been criticized for “acts of subversion or prejudice” (249), as has the United States Information Agency (USIA) which pursues neo-colonial aims through radio, television, and literature. Any attempt to deviate from the USIA cultural program and permit the import of Russian media, for example, is followed by a threat to cut off foreign aid. USIA, Nkrumah believes, is “a top intelligence arm of the U.S. imperialists” (250).

In spite of these vast resources massed in the name of neo-colonialism, Nkrumah is optimistic. He cites the many successful revolutions which, at one point or another, seemed to be beyond hope. Rather than a sign of strength, he believes that the above examples are signs of imperialism’s “last hideous gasp” (253). Since imperialists operate according to the mantra of “divide and rule,” he suggests, those interested in destroying imperialism require unity. Pan-African organizations, for example, can create this unity. He also calls for the support of socialist organizations and for support for anti-imperialism within imperialist countries. Nkrumah backs the Non-Aligned Movement. He calls for the continued analysis and eventual defeat of neo-colonialism.

Nkrumah reflects on his aims in Neo-Colonialism. The areas in which early neo-colonialism was practiced, he notes, have most successfully turned against capitalism. At the same time, capitalism in industrialized countries seems to have only grown stronger. They have done this, he suggests, by exporting their internal class struggles and tensions to external places, such as former colonies. The inevitable class conflict predicted by Karl Marx, Nkrumah suggests, has emerged, though in a slightly different form, so that “world capitalism has postponed its crisis but only at the cost of transforming it into an international crisis” (256).

The freedom of Africa, he believes, will force the imperialists to address their problems at home, rather than export their crises abroad. In spite of the state of the world, Nkrumah believes that “a way out is possible” (258). A better organization of resources and a willingness to fight for equality may be necessary. To destroy neo-colonialism in Africa, African unity must be found. Those who seek to end neo-colonialism are not the threat to world peace; instead, it is those who—through their inaction—“allow it to continue” (259) that are the real threat. He thus calls on people to act with resolution and unity.