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evolutionary ideas of economic development and capitalism were also introduced – alien concepts to people who were used to living largely in communal, socialist societies. Africans were taught ‘…a sense of deference towards all that was European and capitalist’ (Rodney, 1972). Once one generation had been taught to embrace capitalism, the Western unquestioning acceptance of the virtues of this model began to set in, so that nowadays, many Africans still believe that this is the only way to progress. As Babu (1972) summed up: ‘We have twisted their (Third World peoples’) education in such a way that the ’skills’ we direct them to develop are geared towards serving the same ends of the world market, rather than towards development of an internal material base…’ The history of colonial Africa therefore seems to hold the key to many of Africa’s current economic problems. To what degree however does Dependency Theory help to explain these inequalities.`Dependency Theory and Social Inequality in Present-Day Africa The current economic situation in most African countries today is very poor. Africa contains many of the world’s poorest countries, such as Mali, Chad and Zambia, and has not seen the improvements in living standards which have become apparent in many Asian and Latin American countries. So why is this the case? Numerous hypotheses have been put forward, ranging from environmental-deterministic suggestions, such as that the African climate is unfavourable to hard work, through to more credible suggestions about Africa’s position in the world economy. It is here that Dependency Theory has a role to play since it helps to explain Africa’s position in the world economy. `It seems, from the evidence above, that it is true that Africa is performing a peripheral role in the capitalist world economy. Africa exports largely low-value agricultural produce and raw materials, frequently in an unprocessed form. There is therefore a heavy dependence on primary sector activities. Employment in manufacturing in 1986 to 1987, for instance, came to only 3.9 million, compared with 30.5 million in Western Europe, despite her smaller population (Peet, 1992). Furthermore, many of the industrial installations which do exist in African countries are foreign-owned and so a large proportion of profits go overseas. Most of Africa’s workers are poorly-skilled and many of the most-skilled positions in African companies are taken by foreigners. `At the moment, there seems to be very little challenge to this status quo. Despite being independent for anything up to thirty years, it seems that little has changed since the colonial period. Indeed, in some cases things appear to have worsened. The regular famines which have hit the Sahel region, for instance, exacerbated by increased population pressure, have been especially devastating in recent years, 1984 in particular. It seems to me therefore that most African countries are in a dependent position at the moment which came about because their economic structures are still largely left over from the colonial period and are therefore not designed to maximise Africa’s benefits from them. There has been very little evidence of changes to this structure so it seems unlikely that Africa’s relationship with the Developed World will alter in the near future. I think it is fair to say that, Dependency Theory does explain Africa’s social inequality with the rest of the world, although many other credible models also exist. `By looking at other parts of the world however, the situation changes slightly. Many countries, especially in Asia, have been experiencing rapid “development” and some (such as Singapore) are soon to achieve developed status. These countries therefore suggest that underdevelopment can lead to development along an evolutionary process. Many of these so-called Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs) were once colonies in just the same way that African countries were (Singapore, Hong Kong, Argentina and India) are all examples). Their independence generally came earlier however – 1947 in India, for instance, earlier still in Latin America. It seems to me therefore that these countries have had more time to shake off their colonial pasts, and realign their economies to serving their own best interests. In this way, I think that there is a hope that Africa may follow suit in the future. `However, an alternative possibility is that the Developed World does indeed need an Underdeveloped World (the crux of Dependency Theory thinking) and so these NICs could equally be seen as the few that got through the net, because of particular local conditions. Singapore, for instance, has had great economic success because of her strategic position on a main trade route, which has earned her a living as an entrepot port. If this is the case it may be true that Africa cannot (apart from in exceptional circumstances) break out of her underdeveloped position, as long as the Capitalist system dominates the world economy. `The Future for Africa The future for Africa can still not be determined therefore, so advice on the best “development strategies” is difficult to give. Owing to the huge number of variables involved, perhaps the only conclusion which can be reached is that “only time will tell”. Three main camps have developed on this issue however. `The classical train of thought (which has been widely-followed to the present day) has been summed up well by Babu’s (1972) discussion of the arguments: “Growth in underdeveloped countries is hampered by inadequate financial resources and is made worse by “population explosion” in these countries.” The traditional solutions are therefore to: “step up exports, increase aid and loans from the developed countries and arrest growth in population” (Babu, 1972). Most development organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank still assume that this