Dr. Wolassa Kumo
1. Introduction

By early 1950s, based on the level of economic development and geopolitical alignment, the World was divided into three Worlds: The First World, the industrialised, capitalist, countries of North America, western Europe, Japan and Australia under the United States’ sphere of political influence; the Second World, the former Soviet Union, the socialist counties of Eastern Europe, and China; and the Third World, Africa, Latin America and the rest of Asia and Middle East. For about 4 decades until 1991 the first two worlds had engaged in Cold War with military tensions, arms race, proxy wars, and economic and technological competitions. The Third World was mostly a battle ground for proxy wars between the first two worlds.

This global politico ? economic order was fundamentally altered following the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe that overthrew socialist governments and forced the Soviet Union to withdraw its forces. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe was followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union itself and the creation of 15 independent states in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Following this, socialism also collapsed in less developed countries of Ethiopia, Cambodia and Mongolia.

With the end of the Second World, the concepts of the First and the Third Worlds became irrelevant. At present the world can be categorised into three economic zones: a) Advanced, industrialised countries (which includes all of the former First world countries); b) Emerging Market Economies,(rapidly expanding economies of China, Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Argentina ,Mexico, South Korea, and Indonesia); and c) Lesser-developed countries mostly in Africa and also in Asia and Latin America.

The next three decades will see major changes in world economic order with emerging markets poised to take over as global economic leaders. The following sections of this brief article investigate the trends in global labour and total factor productivity as engines driving rapid changes in global economic order.

2. Global output growth during the past 60 years

In 1950 the total GDP of India converted at Geary Khamis (GK) [1] PPPs in 1990 US dollar prices was US$ 222 billion, bigger than that of Japan (US $ 160.9 billion), France (US$220 billion), West Germany (US213.9 billion) and China (US$198.6 billion) all at constant 1990 prices. In terms of the size of total output, six decades ago, India was the third largest economy in the World after USA with total GDP at Geary Khamis PPP of US$ 1,455 billion, and United kingdom with total GDP of US $ 347.8 billion (of course excluding the former USSR with the total GDP of over US$ 510 billion) all at the 1990 prices.

During the next three decades the global economy expanded remarkably but at different paces in different major economies. By 1980 India’s total GDP nearly tripled to over US$ 637 billion while that of China grew more than four times to US$805.8 billion. During the same period, the total GDP of Japan grew almost ten times to over US$1,568 billion.

On the other hand, the total output of United States grew only three times to about US$4230 billion over the same period while the UK total output only doubled during the three decades between 1950 and 1980. Western Germany’s total output expanded by nearly four and one half times to US$946 billion while French total output expanded only three and one half times during the same period.

In fact, Japan’s total output exceeded that of each of India and China within a decade and one half after WWII while it exceeded that of each of UK and West Germany by mid 1960s. Therefore, by late 1960s Japan and West Germany emerged as the second and third world economic powers respectively after the United Sates.

However, growth trends for the next three decades ending in 2009 decelerated for most advanced economies. At the 1990 constant PPP prices, the US total output expanded only slightly more than 2 times at the end of 2009 from its 1980 level while that of Japan expanded only by 1.7 times for the same period. Similarly, total output in UK, Germany, and France expanded by less than 2 times during this period.

On the other hand, Chinese total output expanded nearly 11 times while that of India expanded five and one half times during the 1980-2009 period. Clearly, the growth moment started to decline in advanced economies since the early 1980s while it started to pick up in the current emerging market economies such as India, China, Brazil and later the Russian federation.

Based on the Geary Khamis PPPs at 1990 constant prices, in January 2010, China and India have become the second and third largest economies in the world respectively after the United States while Russia and Brazil are catching up with the UK and France. Japan and Germany are fourth and fifth largest economies in the world respectively.

Such rapid growth in some emerging market economies since the 1980s is attributed primarily to continuous improvements in labour and total factor productivity.

3. Labour and total factor productivity

The expansion of total output at any given point in time is strongly positively associated with the growth in labour and total factor productivity. For instance, the total output per person employed in the United States grew 1.7 times during the 1950-1980 period but only 1.5 times during the 1980-2009 period. Output per person employed expanded 3 times in France during 1950-1980 but only about 1.5 times during the 1980-2009 period while in UK there was no major difference in growth of output per employed person during the two periods.. In Japan output per employed person expanded six times during the 1950-80 period but only 1.6 times during the slow growth periods of 1980-2009. Thus, the rapid expansion in total output in advanced economies during the 1950-1980 period was directly linked with the rapid expansion in contribution of labour.

Then opposite is true for most emerging market economies. The, total output per employed person grew only by about 1.6 times in China during 1950-1980 but rapidly accelerated during the 1980-2009 period to about seven times. In India output per employed persons expanded only 1.3 times during the 1950-1980 period but it expanded 3 times during the 1980-2009 period. Thus the first three decades following the end of WWII, saw rapid growth in labour productivity in advanced economies while the past three decades since 1980 saw a sharp decline in labour productivity. This was accompanies by rapid growth in labour productivity in emerging market economies during the past three decades.

In spite of rapid growth in labour productivity in emerging market economies during the past three decades, in absolute terms, labour productivity in these economies is still lower than those of the advanced economies. The United States is still a world leader in total output/labour ratio. The GDP per persons employed in the United States in 2009 is the highest in the world, at about GK $ 66000 followed by Ireland GK$55000, Luxemburg GK$52000 and Norway GK$51000 all at the 1990 constant GK dollars.

Among the BRICs Russia leads in output per person employed in 2009 at about GK$18000 followed by Brazil, GK $ 13000 and China GK $ 11000 and India GK$ 7000, at 1990 constant GK dollars.

Labour productivity performance is critical for economic growth but its effect is usually short term. . The long term economic performance depends on total factor productivity (TFP) which reflects a country’s ability to use a broad range of skills, including its public policies and infrastructural development to improve living standards [2]. The TFP growth accounts for the changes in output not caused by changes in inputs. Its growth represents the effect of technological change, efficiency improvements, and our inability to measure the contribution of all other inputs. It is estimated as the residual by subtracting the sum of two-period average compensation share weighted input growth rates from the output growth rate as log differences of level which are known as Tornqvist indexes[1].

Rich countries are facing an increasing challenge from emerging economies not only in terms of labour productivity bus also in terms of total factor productivity .The growth in total factor productivity in most advanced economies between 1982 and 2008 measured as percent of Tornqvist index was mostly negative and marginal. For instance, between 1982 and 2008 total factor productivity in the United States grew only by 0.35 percent per year on average while in Japan it grew only by about 0.18 percent per year on average.

On the other hand, TFP grew much higher in emerging market economies. For instance, TFP grew by about 1.98 percent per year on average in China, and 0.87 percent in India for the period 1982- 2008 and by over 4 percent in Russia for the period 1995 – 2008.

It can be argued therefore that the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and the ensuing Great recession were not merely the result of short term bad bank behaviour, but the result of long term decline in total factor productivity in developed economies. Most of the developed economies have shown persistent trend of decline over the past thirty years while emerging economies have shown persistent sign of improvement in productivity and economic growth. The economic resilience of the emerging market economies during the 2008-2009 Great recession is the proof of their long term economic rigour.

4. The changing global economic order

Economist are predicting that during the next there decades the world economic order will change drastically and that China will take over United States as the world economic superpower. Robert Fogel [3], the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, argues that in 2040, the Chinese economy will reach $123 trillion, or nearly three times the economic output of the entire globe in 2000. He states further that China’s per capita income will hit $85,000, more than double the forecast for the European Union, and also much higher than that of India and Japan. Fogel forecasts further that although China will not overtake the United States in per capita wealth, its share of global GDP of 40 percent will be more than 3 times that of USA and more than 8 times that of the European Union after three decades.

The basic factors contributing to China’s faster economic expansion are: enormous investment in education leading to rapid increases in productivity; the continued role of the massive rural sector; currently underestimated economic progress; locally driven reforms and more open criticism than most think; and rapidly expanding consumerism tendencies [3].
The main factors for the relative decline of the European union will be declining fertility and consumer restraints.

However, not everyone shares such optimistic view about China’s economic future. Gordon Chang [4] argues that China will not achieve such massive expansion during the coming three decades. He argues that although China is making record investment in education, its education remains inappropriate for modern society. He further stresses that although China still has cheap labour, there is generally accepted projection that its labour force will level off in a half decade and then shrink.

Chang argues further that in spite of Fogel’s observations, Chinese communist party tolerates less criticism today than it did two decades ago and that economic reforms have stalled because China has progressed as far as it can within the existing political framework. He reiterates that a true market economy requires a rule of law, which in turn requires institutional curbs on government.

Chang rejects Fogel’s view on the role of consumer spending in China. He argues that historically, private consumption in China contributed about 60% of economic output; today it accounts for about 30% as the bulk of growth is driven by government’s massive investment on infrastructure. Change observes further that as much as Europe faces demographic challenges so does China; Chinese statistics show that the country’s birthrate fell 42 percent from 1990 to 2007, and government projections suggest that by 2025, nearly a quarter of China’s population will have celebrated its 60th birthday.

Finally, Chang states that China’s 1.4 trillion people will not earn a per capita income of US$85000 in 2040 for the main reason that the Earth cannot sustain such rapid growth, a clear reminder about China’s responsibility to curb carbon emissions to a sustainable level.

However, only time will tell whether Fogel or Chang will have accurately predicted the future state of the Chinese economy and hence the emergent global economic order.

References

[1] The Conference Board Total Economy Database, January 2010, http://www.conference-board.org/economics/database.cfm

[2] Finfacts Ireland, Business and Finance Portal, 2010: http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews

[3] Robert Fogel, January /February 2010. $123,000,000,000,000*
*China’s estimated economy by the year 2040. Be warned. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/04/123000000000000

[4] Gordon C Chang, January 8, 2010. China’s Economy To Reach $123 Trillion? A Nobel Prize winner seems to think so. Here’s why he’s wrong.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/07/china-economy-robert-fogel-opinions-columnists-gordon-g-chang.html

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BBC: Close your eyes and try to imagine the scenes of jubilation across Africa if a team from the continent were to win the 2010 World Cup.

A celebration like no other, one billion people reveling in one of the greatest sporting and cultural achievements.

For the first time in its 80-year history, football’s blue riband competition is coming to the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped land.

How better to mark the occasion than with a first African champion?

“Winning the World Cup would be one of the proudest moments in the history of that country and our continent as a whole,” former South Africa striker Shaun Bartlett told BBC Sport.

“Every African nation has its internal problems but football can do wonders for people and nations, which is a huge incentive.”

Nobody is saying it is going to happen but the groundswell of opinion suggests South Africa 2010 is the best opportunity yet. [ READ MORE ]

The Genius of Pele

The 2010 Draw:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

[ READ MORE ]

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   Jendayi Frazer
The discredited and disreputable Assistant Secretary of State consists in America’s most calamitous liability and represents worldwide the most repugnant figure of merciless and inhuman accomplice of the criminal Amhara and Tigray gangsters who rule Abyssinia (the illegal pseudo-state of ‘Ethiopia’) tyrannically.

Even worse, due to publicly undefined reasons of gravely deteriorated health and because of her fear for judicial procedures that may be undertaken against her after she leaves office, the morbidly obese Jendayi Frazer has totally ‘lost it’!

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano!

The Ancient Romans and Greeks knew it very well; the aforementioned quotation in Latin is owed to the illustrious Roman poet Juvenal who in his Satire X (356) immortalized it: “a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

The related excerpt in English translation is as follows:

“It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body.
Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,
which places the length of life last among nature’s blessings,
which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,
does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes
the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than
the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.
I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;
For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.”

(More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_sana_in_corpore_sano)

Jendayi Frazer certainly never read Juvenal, because she would find herself ? for the first time in her lifetime ? in front of a mirror. The problem is not that she never had the courage, the interest or the cultural level to read Juvenal; the problem is that never a colleague or a subordinate or a superior bothered to remind her of Juvenal’s Satire. Probably this is due to the fact that they may consider her as beyond any therapy, as she is the most clownish and the most pathetic of all the outgoing president’s men.

However, the Satire takes an end when one Genocide follows the other, and Africa is being deliberately doomed from north to south and from east to west.

Unhealthy and unbalanced, Jendayi Frazer did not fit the job that was entrusted to her ? very thoughtlessly. Invaded by her anti-Somali hatred, infected by an extreme anti-Kushite, anti-Oromo, anti-Afar, anti-Sidama, and anti-Eritrean rancor, motivated by her ignorance, and guided by the blindness which is due to her sickness, Jendayi Frazer is responsible for the Ogaden Holocaust, the Oromo Genocide, the Somali Chaos, and the grave deterioration of America’s image in Africa.

Seldom one person triggered such rejection and such antipathy against a country that had it all it needed to be highly evaluated and greatly loved by all Africans.

The extreme unbalance that prevails in Jendayi Frazer’s mind is the reason for her biased policies and directives, activities and commitments.

The Mooyaha Genocide at Ogaden

Study for a moment Jendayi Frazer’s unbalanced stance: she accuses Zimbabwe’s Mugabe for political violence, and Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economic situation, and she keeps silent for the Mooyaha Genocide at Ogaden.

At the moment the Abyssinian troops entered (on the 17th of December 2008) Mooyaha (near the town of Ararso, 50 Km north west of Dagahbur, Ogaden), rounded up the villagers, and started gunning them down indiscriminately, killing forty eight (48) civilians mostly comprised of children women and elderly men, Jendayi Frazer talks about Zimbabwe’s Mugabe.

It is comical, hypocritical and evil to dare compare Zimbabwe, targeted by the corrupt and racist English land owners (Jendayi Frazer’s real masters), with the monstrous Abyssinian tyranny that makes Hitler’s worst deeds pale in comparison.

Worse, it is a shame for the entire country that, although mentally unbalanced (“a healthy mind in a healthy body”), Jendayi Frazer insults President Mugabe, making allusions about his mental health, when obviously her mental healthy is the poorest possible to be attested in the world.

To add perjury to incontinence, Jendayi Frazer meets at the Nairobi airport the unrepresentative, unelected, totally rejected, and provenly criminal pseudo-president Abdillahi Yousuf of Somalia and the corrupt pseudo-premier Nur Hassan Hussein in an effort to spread further disorder and chaos in Somalia, the country that paranoid Jendayi Frazer has been determined to destroy and demolish.

In fact, all Africans should react to the presence of that mentally unbalanced and spiritually rotten person in Africa. African leaders must take the impious case ‘Jendayi Frazer’ to all courts of Justice, describing the female monster of the State Department as Africa’s no 1 enemy, and prohibiting her from landing on Africa in the future.

I republish here two reports, one composed by Michael Heath, on Jendayi Frazer’s villainous and lewd insults against Zimbabwe’s Mugabe, and another on her meeting with the Somali traitors who impersonate the ‘president’ and the ‘premier’ of Somalia from the portal garowe online.

Jendayi Frazer must be declared persona non grata throughout Africa.

Mugabe Has ‘Lost It,’ Can’t Be Part of Zimbabwe Deal, U.S. Says
By Michael Heath

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) — Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has “lost it” and the U.S. can’t support a unity government that would involve him, the top American envoy for Africa said.

Jendayi Frazer, an assistant secretary of state, said Mugabe is “completely discredited” and the U.S. doesn’t believe there can be “credible power-sharing” with him as he won’t relinquish control.

Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed Sept. 15 to form a unity government in a move supported by the Bush administration. The deal has since stalled in disputes over control of key ministries.

Frazer, in comments to reporters in Pretoria, South Africa, cited continued political violence, Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economic situation and the spread of cholera that has killed more than 1,100 Zimbabweans for the U.S. decision.

“The power-sharing agreement should be implemented and it needs to be implemented with someone other than Robert Mugabe as the president,” she said.

Frazer cited accusations from Mugabe’s government that Western nations used biological warfare to start the cholera epidemic to indicate the president has “lost it.”

Cholera, mainly spread through contaminated water and food and poor sanitation, causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can be fatal. The first cases in the Zimbabwean outbreak were reported in August. A collapse of the country’s economy has led to shortages of chemicals for water-treatment plants.

‘Worsening Daily’

Zimbabwe, ruled by Mugabe since 1980, is in its 10th year of a recession. Mugabe won a presidential election this year after Tsvangirai backed out of a run-off, citing police intimidation of his supporters. The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change won the first round of the election, without garnering the 50 percent needed to avoid the run-off.

Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis is “worsening daily,” Tsvangirai said last week. “People are dying of cholera and over 5 million people face hunger. Zimbabwe needs urgent and immediate foreign assistance.”

The U.S. was poised to help rescue Zimbabwe’s economy as soon as a power-sharing deal was completed, Frazer said.

Frazer also said she had urged Zimbabwe’s neighbors to step up pressure on Mugabe’s government.

Tsvangirai said last week his party may suspend negotiations with Mugabe unless abductions of party activists are halted immediately.

“At least 42 people have been abducted by people we believe to be state agents in the last seven weeks,” he said by telephone from Botswana. “The police have refused to obey court orders compelling them to produce or search for those who’ve been abducted and, in fact, the abductions are continuing.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mhea...@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 21, 2008 21:43 EST

Frazer meets with Somalia leaders ‘at Kenya airport’

Nairobi, Kenya Dec 22 (Garowe Online) – The U.S. government’s top African affairs diplomat, Ms. Jendayi Frazer, held separate meetings with interim Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and disputed Prime Minister Nur “Adde” Hassan Hussein Monday at an airport in Kenya, Radio Garowe reports.

Ms. Frazer was reportedly ‘on transit’ when she held private meetings with the Somali leaders, who have been feuding for months with Yusuf refusing to recognize Nur Adde as Prime Minister.

The meeting was originally supposed to be held at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, but it was unclear why the venue was changed to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Journalists were not allowed to attend either of the two meetings Ms. Frazer held with the Somali leaders, but a source close to Mr. Nur Adde said the ongoing political dispute was discussed at length.

“Discussions were centered around the IGAD decision to impose sanctions on the President [Yusuf] as well as Yusuf’s decision to appoint a new Prime Minister,” the source said.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc in East Africa, issued a statement yesterday declaring new and immediate sanctions against the Somali president, days after Kenya announced similar sanctions.

Somalia’s leadership dispute has largely crippled a weak interim government, which the world fears will collapse if Ethiopian troops withdraw within weeks as planned.

In recent months, Islamist guerrillas have gained new territory in southern and central Somalia, dealing a blow to the Bush administration’s “war on terror” policies in the Horn of Africa region.

Ms. Frazer, the U.S. State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Africa affairs, has been deeply involved in the Somali conflict and has paid visits to Baidoa and Hargeisa, in Somaliland region, over the past two years.

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 Columnist – John Sammon
You’ve heard of a Freudian slip. This is where you accidentally reveal some hidden thing in which you believe. Time and again, Republicans have revealed, sometimes outright, while at the same time attempting to pander to the American people as working class heroes, that they consider Americans to be superior to other peoples. Especially white Americans.

Do you? Because you’re American, do you feel you’re better? One of the chosen people?

During the first debate, McCain wouldn’t look at Obama. This is because McCain thinks of Obama as an upstart nigger.

McCain’s handlers told him about this gaff, and in their last debate, McCain literally hugged Obama (a theatrical ploy to gain votes by trying to show he’s friendly to blacks).

The reason for the original snub is also the reason McCain is against any dialog (communication) with countries we’ve decided we don’t like, like Syria. Syria might use its influence in the region to help control terrorism.

I’m only saying it’s a possibility.

Instead, turn your back. Because hostility and non-communication are better, despite the fact that in the past we’ve befriended some ruthless dictatorships, while selectively condemning others. We originally befriended Saddam Hussein, and only turned on him when he wouldn’t act like the good puppet we thought we had in our pocket.

Why do Republicans constantly talk about God and America as though we’re the only country in the world whom God favors? As though we’re the only country that matters?

Here’s the way they (Republicans) word it.

• ‘I’m fearful his America is not my America’ (implies ownership of America).

• ‘Our troops are on a mission from God’ (implies God is a four-star American general).

‘Bomb bomb bomb…bomb bomb Iran’ (sung to the tune of the Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann). Meant as a joke by McCain, it trivializes, dismisses as nothing, the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people, including women and children.

There are three main dysfunctional reasons to think we’re better.

1. We’re more powerful militarily.

2. We’re richer.

3. We know God. Others don’t.

To Republicans, there are niggers here in this country, that we (whites) are better than. But there are others. Many others.

Here is a partial list of countries, who, according to the right wing, could also be considered niggers:

Canada — A bunch of displaced French frogs and faggots in Mountie suits up in the north woods. Even though they’re socialistic and soft on terror, at least, they stay where they are.

Unlike –

Mexico — Cactus niggers. Ruining the United States by coming here, illegally populating huge tracts of land of which they used to own that we illegally but patriotically stole from them. I don’t like ‘em, but I’ll let ‘em landscape my yard.

Arabs — Sand niggers. A worthless bunch of stinking, sheep-stealing, turban-wearing Sabu-fetch-my-slippers assbites…..except the Saudis (the springboard for Al-Qaeda), whom, even though they’re inferior…we can tolerate because of their oil. Their royal family act a lot like we do.

The British — They support every war we engage in. They’re faggy and weak looking but at least they’re white, and they gave us the Beatles.

Japan — They’re still just Japs. We’ve watched too many old World War Two movies to change that.

The Russians — Godless, communistic-inclined Bolsheviks who attacked Georgia. Only the United States has the right to attack other countries (Palin said we might attack Russia).

China — A bunch of modernizing Chinks whom we as yet have no problem with.

South America — All those countries down there, a bunch of stupid looking, weak-coffee-colored Indians walking around like they don’t have a clue. Sandals on their feet. No shopping malls. They’re lucky we tolerate them.

All of Africa — If God didn’t intend them to be unlucky, he wouldn’t have put them in huts as ignorant, disease-ridden savages. If you want the true story of Africa, watch Tarzan movies.

Pakistan — More turban heads. We’re going to violate their sovereignty without their permission to go after terrorists. We can fight a war with them since we have two other wars we haven’t won. We’ll have ourselves in a war with those ignorant bastards and we’ll make it look like they started it.

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Writes: James N. Kariuki

Obama, nuclear weapons and the race factor — Given the history of nuclear weapons relative to the non-white world, and noting the ongoing ‘loose talk about nukes’ in the US regarding Iran, it is fitting that Barack Obama should aspire to eliminate all nuclear weapons, American and otherwise. Perhaps, he owes it most to his ancestral Diaspora.

In early August 1945, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The indiscriminate damage of life and property was immeasurable. It was a massive collective punishment, a classic case of the power of modern civilisation without its mercy.

Ever since, the world has been haunted by two questions. Was the use of nuclear devices necessary? Would the US have used nuclear weapons against white Germany? Critics remain deeply divided.

President Harry Truman’s sympathisers however, support his logic that the bombs were vital to shortening the war in the Pacific and saving American lives.

Doubters insist that by mid-1945, Japan was virtually a crippled enemy. Nazi Germany had already surrendered in May 1945.

Combined bombardment

How much longer could Japan have endured under the combined ‘conventional’ bombardment of the Allies and, possibly, Russia?

In short, the American use of atomic weapons was unnecessary, prompted and made easier by the fact that the victims were non-white. Indeed innuendoes abound that America used the Japanese as guinea pigs to demonstrate the ravaging power of its new, barbarous weapon.

Twenty years later, the same US was bogged down in the protracted Vietnam War, and language of nuclear weapons resurfaced in American politics. The 1964 Republican presidential contender, Barry Goldwater, openly recommended using low-yield nuclear weapons for defoliation of Vietnamese woodlands.

Goldwater’s ‘nuclear reckless talk’ ultimately cost him the presidency. But in the hunt for it, he had arrogated to himself the right to entertain nuclear language that could have resulted in annihilation of a Southeast Asian nation.

Again, the collective victims would have been non-whites — men, women and children alike.

Castro’s autobiography

In a 2007 autobiography, Fidel Castro: My Life, the Cuban icon narrates the story that for Angola’s freedom, Cuban and Angolan troops fought against an apartheid army and government that had eight Hiroshima/Nagasaki-size atomic bombs secretly “provided by the US through … Israel.” Were those weapons developed during the South African-Israeli nuclear collaboration or were they US-made? In either case, the targets were black people.

As SA approached freedom, the West became increasingly nervous over the prospects of blacks inheriting a nuclear state.

Accordingly, Nelson Mandela and his associates were vigorously coaxed into dismantling the bombs and signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Racist SA could be nuclear; democratic one could not.

Given the history of nuclear weapons relative to the non-white world, and noting the ongoing ‘loose talk about nukes’ in the US regarding Iran, it is fitting that Barack Obama should aspire to eliminate all nuclear weapons, American and otherwise. Perhaps, he owes it most to his ancestral Diaspora.