Property, Institutions and Social Stratification in Africa is the first book-length analysis of stratification economics in Africa, a new sub-field of economics that offers alternative political-economic explanations for inequality, not just in terms of income but also regarding group-based wealth and power. In this essay, author Dr Franklin Obeng-Odoom discusses his book’s contribution to the field and contextualises stratification economics within the Black Radical Tradition

Obeng-Odoom, Franklin

English

LSE Research Online

Feature	Essay:	Stratification	Economics	and	the	BlackRadical	TraditionProperty,	Institutions	and	Social	Stratification	in	Africa	is	the	first	book-length	analysis	of	stratificationeconomics	in	Africa,	a	new	sub-field	of	economics	that	offers	alternative	political-economic	explanations	forinequality,	not	just	in	terms	of	income	but	also	regarding	group-based	wealth	and	power.	In	this	essay,	author	DrFranklin	Obeng-Odoom	discusses	his	book’s	contribution	to	the	field	and	contextualises	stratification	economicswithin	the	Black	Radical	Tradition.Stratification	Economics	and	the	Black	Radical	TraditionStratification	economics	is	a	new	sub-field	of	economics	which	provides	alternative	approaches	for	the	political-economic	analysis	of	the	unequal	world	order	in	which	we	live.	Distinctive	in	both	ontological	and	methodologicalterms,	stratification	economics	offers	new	political-economic	explanations	of	inequality,	not	just	in	terms	of	incomebut	also	with	respect	to	group-based	wealth	and	power.	It	is	a	key	field	that	I	both	draw	on	and	contribute	to	in	myrecent	book	Property,	Institutions	and	Social	Stratification	in	Africa.	William	Darity	Jr,	the	leading	theorist	ofstratification	economics,	has	provided	the	history	of	the	field,	its	commitments	and	contentions	in	many	of	hiswritings.Another	way	to	explain	stratification	economics	is	by	contextualising	it	within	theBlack	Radical	Tradition.	Cedric	J.	Robinson’s	book,	Black	Marxism:	The	Making	ofthe	Black	Radical	Tradition	(1983),	is	a	useful	starting	point.	Divided	into	threethemed	parts,	the	book	starts	appropriately	with	‘the	emergence	and	limitations	ofEuropean	Radicalism’.	Next,	it	considers	‘the	roots	of	Black	Radicalism’,	before	goingon	to	discuss	‘Black	Radicalism	and	Marxist	Theory’.	Some	of	the	chapters	in	this	lastpart	are	arranged	to	focus	on	black	intellectuals,	avoiding	the	problem	of	discussingthe	Black	Radical	Tradition	without	carefully	engaging	black	scholars.Robinson’s	book	is	magisterial.	Consider	Chapter	Nine	on	W.E.B	Du	Bois.	Not	onlydoes	this	chapter	show	that	Du	Bois	was	once	idealist	before	becoming	a	materialist,a	radical	black	scholar	and	activist,	but	it	also	demonstrates	how	Du	Bois	exposedthe	limitations	of	Western	political	economy.	Neglecting	or	working	against	thesystematic	study	of	race	questions	was	one	of	Du	Bois’s	concerns	with	the	West,	theleft	and	Western	Left	political	economists	in	his	time.Even	if	Western	political	economists	were	supportive	of	the	need	to	study	race	andclass	together,	Du	Bois	was	concerned	that	their	key	concepts	were	inadequate.	He	discussed	‘labour’	or	‘workers’in	Western	Marxism,	for	example,	arguing	that	neither	concept	fully	reflects	the	conditions	of	black	people	incapitalist	economic	systems	nor	comprehensively	appreciates	the	contribution	of	black	slaves,	labourers	or	workersto	pre-capitalist	political-economic	organisation	and	change.	Third,	in	terms	of	revolutions,	Du	Bois	was	alsoconvinced	that	Western	Marxist	theories	tend	to	overlook	the	complexities	and	peculiarities	of	black	experiences	or,if	they	consider	such	experiences	at	all,	tend	to	devalue	them.	That	said,	a	broad	critique	of	idealism,	as	can	befound	in	Western	Marxism,	is	useful.	Indeed,	Robinson	himself	clearly	shows	the	need	to	critique	the	idealism	ofboth	black	and	white	intellectuals,	while	being	broadly	supportive	of	black	radicals	such	as	C.L.R	James,	whosework	he	discusses	in	Chapter	Ten.LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: Stratification Economics and the Black Radical Tradition Page 1 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-10-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/10/29/feature-essay-stratification-economics-and-the-black-radical-tradition/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/InChapterTen,Robinson	offers	a	further	clarification	of	what	the	Black	Radical	Tradition	entails,	including	a	critique	of	capitalismand	chattel	slavery,	a	critique	of	racists	and	racism,	a	critique	of	Western	Marxism	and	a	development	of	an	eclecticthird	alternative	characterised	by	Pan-African	liberation	struggles.	In	the	hands	of	Robinson,	James	taught	me	theimportance	of	contradictions.	According	to	Robinson,	many	black	scholars	found	themselves	‘trapped’	in	the	Britishempire	without	many	possibilities	of	going	back	home,	as	the	British	authorities	wanted	to	contain	any	spread	ofradical	ideas	in	the	colonies.	Yet,	black	radicals	developed	their	work	right	in	the	metropolitan	context	where	theyhad	the	opportunity	to	work	with	one	another,	the	opportunity	to	learn	together	and	the	opportunity	to	observe	atclose	range	inconsistencies	in	the	claims	by	the	British,	while	seizing	the	opportunity	to	lay	bare	the	contradictionsat	the	heart	of	the	empire.	Consequently,	they	were	led	in	their	adversity	to	reject	British,	but	also	other	forms	of,imperialism.	They	questioned	progressive	Western	political	economy,	too,	because	it	struggled	to	fully	reflect	theconcerns	of	the	black	leaders	at	the	time.	Even	worse,	some	Western	political	economists	sometimes	wavered	intheir	support	of	the	oppressed.For	me,	the	lesson	in	these	analyses	is	that	we	cannot	lose	hope	as	political	economists,	as	black	politicaleconomists.	Even	in	unexpected	circumstances	and	hostile	contexts,	it	may	be	possible	to	find	oases	in	deserts,and	rays	of	light	and	warmth	in	dark	and	cold	places.	Probably	the	logical	analytical	conclusion	is	that,	just	as	thestrategies	of	slavery,	colonialism	and	imperialism	that	were	used	to	control	the	oppressed	can	be	used	against	theoppressor,	the	principles	of	spatial,	temporal	and	social	analyses	found	in	Marxism	can	also	be	used	toproblematise	and	reconstruct	Marxism.	Robinson	discusses	theories	of	revolution	as	one	concrete	example	of	anarea	where	the	Black	Radical	Tradition	matters.	Indeed,	he	argues	that	black	writers	have	developed	theories	ofrevolution	that	are	qualitatively	and	substantially	different	from	theories	of	revolution	found	in	Western	Marxism.Robinson	mentions	The	Black	Jacobins	by	James	as	one	such	corpus	of	alternative	theories	of	revolution.	Perhaps,as	suggested	in	this	discussion	of	Kehinde	Andrews’s	Back	to	Black:	Black	Radicalism	for	the	21st	Century,	thelives	and	contrasting	theorisations	of	Martin	Luther	King	Jr.	and	Malcolm	X	also	offer	a	counterpunch	to	Westernsecular	theories	of	revolution.A	masterpiece,	Black	Marxism	could	have	been	much	clearer	in	some	of	its	exposition,	much	wider	in	its	discussionof	the	sources	of	inspiration	for	black	radicals	and	much	more	inclusive	of	the	work	of	black	feminists.	Doing	sowould	have	widened	the	book’s	analytical	power	and	appeal.	However,	such	notes	should	not	take	attention	awayfrom	Robinson’s	lasting	contribution	to	understanding	the	nature	of	that	Black	Radical	Tradition,	typified	by	itschallenge	to	orthodoxy,	critique	of	progressivism	and	development	of	a	third	alternative	that	is	truly	liberatory.LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: Stratification Economics and the Black Radical Tradition Page 2 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-10-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/10/29/feature-essay-stratification-economics-and-the-black-radical-tradition/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/That	tradition	can	be	found	in	the	work	of	bell	hooks,	Ama	Ata	Aidoo,	Kimberlé	Crenshaw,	Amina	Mama,	Nawal	ElSaadawi	and	Chimamanda	Ngozi	Adichie,	to	name	but	a	few.	Consider	hooks’s	work	in	Ain’t	I	a	Woman	(1981)	orher	book	on	teaching,	Teaching	to	Transgress:	Education	as	the	Practice	of	Freedom	(1994),	and	Stella	Dadzie’s	AKick	in	the	Belly	(2020).	In	all	these	works,	the	Black	Radical	Tradition	challenges	mainstream	analysis,	but	it	alsoquestions	progressive	white	feminist	interventions	(see,	for	example,	‘Holding	My	Sister’s	Hand’,	Chapter	Seven	ofTeaching	to	Transgress).	These	theorists	have	developed	a	third	position	of	their	own:	black	feminism.	That	is	whatbell	hooks	means	when	she	writes:Commitment	to	feminist	politics	and	black	liberation	struggle	means	that	I	must	be	able	to	confrontissues	of	race	and	gender	in	a	black	context,	providing	meaningful	answers	to	problematic	questions	aswell	as	appropriate	accessible	ways	to	communicate	them	(112).Historically,	the	attitude	of	both	mainstream	and	progressive	scholars	to	the	Black	Radical	Tradition	is	that	it	isnothing	new,	that	it	does	not	exist,	or	if	it	exists,	that	it	creates	distraction	or	destruction.	To	the	extent	that	it	isvaluable,	it	is	merely	a	poor	and	deficient	imitation	of	the	work	of	what	hooks	calls	“‘great’’	white	men’	(Teaching	toTransgress,	32).	In	the	context	of	Robinson’s	attempt	to	show	the	nature	of	Black	Marxism,	those	‘great	white	men’would	include	Karl	Marx	and	Friedrich	Engels.Yet,	there	truly	is	a	Black	Radical	Tradition,	sometimes	called	‘African	political	economy’	or	‘black	political	economy’–	even	if	there	are	ongoing	criticisms	within	this	body	of	work,	too,	such	that	black	radicals	critique	the	work	of	oneanother.	Marx	is	commonly	referenced,	as	in	Walter	Rodney’s	work,	How	Europe	Underdeveloped	Africa,	but	theseleaders	have	often	found	Marx	alone	insufficient,	as	Andrews’s	Back	to	Black,	reviewed	on	LSE	Review	of	Books,also	shows.	So,	while	this	tradition	is	not	necessarily	a	rejection	of	Western	Marxism,	many	have	been	critical	ofMarx	without	necessarily	denying	everything	Marx	has	to	offer.As	the	analyses	of	Aimé	Césaire	and	Frantz	Fanon	show,	this	Black	Radical	Tradition	is	not	anti-Marx,	but	thereare	also	many	other	influences.	Institutionalism	is	one	of	them,	so	the	Black	Radical	Tradition	is	sometimesconsidered	‘critical	institutionalism’.	Personally,	I	have	drawn	from	both	Marx	and	the	institutionalists,	but	also	fromHenry	George,	and	many	other	theorists.	There	are	also	subtle	and	important	differences	of	emphasis.	Forexample,	hooks	explains	in	Teaching	to	Transgress	that,	even	within	black	feminism,	contributory	currents	arediverse.	Literary	criticism	is	one,	but	there	are	others	in	law,	women’s	studies	and	English	literature.	Yet	whatseparates	these	points	of	entry	and	analyses	are	trivial	compared	to	what	unites	them:	that	spirit	Kwame	Nkrumahof	Ghana	called	‘total	liberation’	of	black	people	and	all	people	of	colour	in	the	world.LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: Stratification Economics and the Black Radical Tradition Page 3 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-10-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/10/29/feature-essay-stratification-economics-and-the-black-radical-tradition/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Stratification	economics	can	be	understood	within	this	context.	Its	specific	arrowhead	and	intellectual	oxygen	isWilliam	Darity	Jr,	his	students	and	his	colleagues	within	the	National	Economic	Association	founded	in	1969	as	theCaucus	of	Black	Economists.	As	shown	in	some	of	their	joint	work,	the	immediate	concerns	of	stratificationeconomics	are	group-based	inequalities,	especially	the	(political)	economics	of	inter-group	structural	wealthdisparities.	Yet,	no	serious	stratification	economics	can	lose	the	spirit	of	the	Black	Radical	Tradition,	nor	blackfeminism,	nor	African	political	economy,	nor	black	political	economy	in	general.It	has	been	a	long-standing	concern	that,	while	literary	scholars,	historians,	legal	scholars,	geographers,	politicalscientists	and	others	have	made	monumental	contributions	to	this	Black	Radical	Tradition,	black	economists	havehad	relatively	little	input.	This	concern	applies	to	Black	Studies,	African	Studies	and	Postcolonial	Studies	moregenerally.	Stratification	economics	can	be	seen	as	a	formidable	response	by	black	economists	–	that	is,	those	whoself-identify	as	economists,	those	who	use	economic	methodologies	and	those	educated	in	and/or	those	employedby	economics	departments	that	usually	teach,	research	and	disseminate	economic	analyses	to	dominant	economicorthodoxies	and	Western	political	economy	alike.	Still,	transdisciplinary	economics	and	(political)	economicanalyses	are	the	central	organising	themes.	Outlets	such	as	The	Review	of	Black	Political	Economy,	TheCambridge	Studies	in	Stratification	Economics	book	series	and,	increasingly,	The	African	Review	of	Economics	andFinance	publish	work	in	this	tradition.Alongside	a	recent	essay	in	the	Review	of	African	Political	Economy	and	my	editorialfor	the	African	Review	of	Economics	and	Finance,	my	substantive	contribution	tostratification	economics	is	my	book,	Property,	Institutions,	and	Social	Stratification	inAfrica,	which	appeared	in	Darity’s	book	series,	The	Cambridge	Studies	inStratification	Economics.	The	book	has	been	reviewed	on	this	platform	and	otheroutlets,	including	the	African	Review	of	Economics	and	Finance	and	Land	andLiberty.	Yet,	curiously,	stratification	economics	and	where	it	sits	within	black	politicaleconomy	have	not	been	a	focus	of	any	of	the	published	reviews	of	my	book	so	far.My	book	seeks	to	engage,	but	ultimately	transcend,	both	orthodox	and	political-economic	attempts	to	explain	and	help	resolve	inequality	in	Africa.	In	terms	of	itscontribution	to	the	relatively	new	field	of	stratification	economics	itself,	the	bookstrongly	emphasises	a	distinctive	theory	of	land	economics,	though	a	focus	on	landand	collective	living	and	land	organisation	is	quite	common	in	the	Black	RadicalTradition,	too.	Although	primarily	focused	on	the	US,	this	emphasis	is	evident	in	FromHere	to	Equality:	Reparations	for	Black	Americans	in	the	Twenty-First	Century,Darity’s	latest	book,	co-authored	with	A.	Kirsten	Mullen,	in	which	he	discusses	theprinciple	of	forty	acres	and	a	mule	promised	to	freed	black	slaves	in	the	US.	There	are	important	intersections	(touse	Crenshaw’s	concept,	and	a	central	concept	in	black	feminism	and	the	Black	Radical	Tradition	generally)between	the	oppression	of	African	Americans,	Africans	in	continental	Africa	and	elsewhere,	as	well	as	those	–whether	religious	or	secular	–	socially	constructed	as	‘black’.	#BlackLivesMatter	is	clearly	a	global	movement.Property,	Institutions,	and	Social	Stratification	in	Africa	is	the	first	book-length	analysis	of	stratification	economics	inAfrica.	So,	the	book’s	contribution	to	the	new	sub-field	of	stratification	economics	is	clearly	distinctive	in	thatrespect.	Working	on	the	book	with	Professor	Darity,	the	leading	scholar	on	stratification	economics,	was	bothhumbling	and	transformational.	The	experience	has	deepened	my	further	engagement	with	the	Black	RadicalTradition.	It	has	much	to	contribute	in	terms	of	the	global	socio-ecological	crises	often	discussed	under	the	rubric	ofclimate	change.	My	forthcoming	book,	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:	Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	andSociety,	demonstrates	that	tradition	in	action.	I	am	also	currently	completing	a	book	on	global	migration	for	OxfordUniversity	Press	in	which	I	put	this	tradition	once	again	to	the	service	of	humanity.	Thus,	to	all	three	great	problemsof	the	world	–	inequality,	climate	change	and	global	migration	crises	–	stratification	economics	and	the	BlackRadical	Tradition	have	much	to	offer.Note:	This	feature	essay	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics.	Author	Acknowledgements:	I	gratefully	acknowledge	Dr.	Deller’s	excellent	feedback.	The	article,	however,	reflectsmy	own	analysis.	LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: Stratification Economics and the Black Radical Tradition Page 4 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-10-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/10/29/feature-essay-stratification-economics-and-the-black-radical-tradition/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Image	Credit:	Triptych	image	of	photograph	of	W.E.B.	Du	Bois	by	Cornelius	M.	Battey,	1918.	ReproductionNumber:	LC-DIG-ppmsca-38818	(digital	file	from	original	item)	LC-USZ62-16767	(b&w	film	copy	neg.Repository:	Library	of	Congress	Prints	and	Photographs	Division	Washington,	D.C.	20540	USAhttp://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print.	No	known	copyright	restrictions.	LSE Review of Books: Feature Essay: Stratification Economics and the Black Radical Tradition Page 5 of 5		Date originally posted: 2020-10-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/10/29/feature-essay-stratification-economics-and-the-black-radical-tradition/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Feature essay: stratification economics and the black radical tradition

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Feature essay: stratification economics and the black radical tradition

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