How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, ft. Isaac of the SDCC

Have y'all heard about this whole "European colonialism" thing? It's bad news, REALLY bad news!

Isaac, an organizer with the South Dekalb Coordinating Committee joins us today for a conversation about a true political titan: Walter Rodney. A Guyanese historian, political philosopher, and organizer, Rodney published his masterwork, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" in 1972.

This conversation takes you through Rodney's life, the outline of his arguments, and a high-level view of the historical processes by which European colonization and imperialism stunted the growth of the African continent, leaving us with the geopolitical situation we see today. It's upsetting stuff, but it's absolutely crucial to understand should we want to see change!

Go support the South Dekalb Coordinating Committee in its quest to organize, educate, and support the people of the Metro Atlanta area in their fight against capitalism and racism!

https://linktr.ee/SDCC_

Go check out Isaac's writing on Substack!

https://substack.com/@isaacboa

Go support Workers' Lit on Patreon!

https://patreon.com/workerslit

Links to sources for this episode:

https://www.economist.com/special-report/2025/01/06/the-economic-gap-between-africa-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-growing

https://www.policycenter.ma/publications/impact-chinese-investments-africa-neocolonialism-or-cooperation

https://www.worldbank.org/en/brief/2026/09/17/the-job-i-hope-for

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/m7o1qi/africa_according_to_the_conference_of_berlin/