Things Fall Apart Again Analysis

In his article, “Things Fall Apart Again: Structural Adjustment Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa”, J. Barry Riddell writes about how the IMF imposes “conditionalities” that affect the people living there and also the natural geography there. He takes a critical approach to the actions of the IMF and claims that they are having a negative impact to the region. His article also highlights the larger issues of how the developed world has imposed a system on the developing world that is meant to force them to remain dependent on them. Riddell writes that the IMF imposes Structural Adjustment Programmes that have four basic elements to them; currency devaluation, the removal or reduction of the state from the workings of the economy, the elimination
In effect, they are decentralizing power and accepting the power of the market, which usually puts them at a disadvantage. It might seem strange that countries would accept these kinds of conditions but they are in desperate situations. They have to deal with rapid population growth, disease, unemployment, and environmental deterioration (54). The IMF is willing to lend these countries money but only with the conditions of the SAP. Riddell then describes how this affects the people in these countries and the environment there. For example, it interrupts the way that people negotiate and trade with each other. Even though there are areas that are developed enough to have markets, many other areas rely on social trade and they are left out of the benefits of the money coming in (61). Another consequence of the IMF’s conditions is that the government loses power to operate. As private companies get rewards from entering the international market and the influx of
He has taken accounts from people in the area and of the politicians there. For example, he quotes Julius Nyerere in 1985, who said that the world economy is governed by the developed countries and they act for their own interests. Furthermore, the IMF has become a tool of the powerful to take advantage of the developing countries (68). He has also been able to look at the main problems and what elements in the IMF programs that cause these problems. It would not be helpful if the article was too general and did not show the links between the program’s elements and the negative results. However, Riddell draws a straight line between the action and the consequences. For example, he describes how the liberalization of trade has led to these countries taking raw material out to send to the developed world while at the same time having to buy expensive manufactured goods from abroad (58). Although the article has many strong points, there are some weaknesses in it. Riddell does not mention what these countries would do if there was nothing from the IMF to help them get out of their situation. He also does not state what conditions the IMF should be allowed to place on these African countries. If they just gave the governments money then they might be lost or not actually go to the people in these countries. If they went in and distributed it themselves then they will