The following post is a collaborative effort by Carol Gallo, David Week, and myself. It came from a conversation, which Carol am retells briefly below:
Once upon a time, David Week read an article in the Washington Post which revealed that Washington lawmakers not only accepted donations from contributors with a stake in the passing of certain laws, but did so while in the process of actually drafting such legislation. Frustrated, he tweeted: “Why is this not called ‘corruption’?” Carol Gallo enlightened him: because it’s not Africa.
David and Carol, then and there, resolved to enlist the help of Tom Murphy and make a list of how the same behaviour is described differently depending on whether it occurs in Washington or in Africa. You know, like those lists of gender double standards in which the same behaviour might be described as “confident” in men and “pushy” in women.
In fact, all kinds of things are framed differently by Westerners depending on whether they occur in the “developed” world or that weird, dark, backward abyss. As Binyavanga Wainaina has famously demonstrated, the Dark Continent is still alive and well in the Western imagination.
So David, Carol, and I are pleased to poke fun at this whole farcical epistemology and present a short list of Washington-Africa double standards.
Can you think of any others…?
Once upon a time, David Week read an article in the Washington Post which revealed that Washington lawmakers not only accepted donations from contributors with a stake in the passing of certain laws, but did so while in the process of actually drafting such legislation. Frustrated, he tweeted: “Why is this not called ‘corruption’?” Carol Gallo enlightened him: because it’s not Africa.
David and Carol, then and there, resolved to enlist the help of Tom Murphy and make a list of how the same behaviour is described differently depending on whether it occurs in Washington or in Africa. You know, like those lists of gender double standards in which the same behaviour might be described as “confident” in men and “pushy” in women.
In fact, all kinds of things are framed differently by Westerners depending on whether they occur in the “developed” world or that weird, dark, backward abyss. As Binyavanga Wainaina has famously demonstrated, the Dark Continent is still alive and well in the Western imagination.
So David, Carol, and I are pleased to poke fun at this whole farcical epistemology and present a short list of Washington-Africa double standards.
Can you think of any others…?
What people might normally call it
|
When it happens in Washington
|
When it happens in Africa
|
| Money received from political sponsors | Campaign contributions | Bribes |
| Uneven spending on public services in different ethnic communities | Social injustice | Tribalism |
| Seeking money in exchange for political influence | Campaign fundraising | Rent seeking |
| Subservience to oil companies | Energy policy | Control by foreign interests |
| Political appointees | The new administration’s team | Cronyism |
| Political families | Tradition of public service | Nepotism |
| People driven from their homes | Homelessness | Displacement |
| No bid contracts | Necessary expedience | Corrupt procurement |
| Government secrecy | National security | Lack of transparency |
| Assistance to the poor | Welfare | Aid |
| Internal security apparatus | Homeland security | Secret police |
| Not funding public schools, health system, infrastructure | Small government | Underdevelopment |
18 comments:
Great list, Tom! Here's another one: Holes in the street. in #DC: underfunded local government. In African nation: Corrupt local government/administration.
Fantastic post! I'll admit to being oblivious to the coded language we use to discriminate between ourselves and other nations. Thanks for pointing it out.
I'd like to suggest an additional reason as to why many may be so comfortable in (perhaps unwittingly) employing this doublespeak: in many 'developing nations', corruption is present on a more everyday level than in the United States. In my travels, I have encountered a number of situations in which I or a colleague, often local, were forced or asked to pay bribes to local public officials (usually street-level police or customs officers). This makes is quite easy to categorize as 'corruption' any other sort of backscratching that happens higher up the pole. In the States, I have never once been involved in a situation where I was invited to pay off a public servant -- and I think that this fact makes higher-level corruption seem more ambiguous or abstract, even if it is no different than what happens in developing countries.
Oh! Oh! I have one.
Rampant physical and sexual abuse of prisoners:
In the US: Meh. There are problems, sure, but...
Anywhere in the developing world: Human rights violations necessitating public outcry, immediate policy changes, the withholding of bilateral aid for noncompliance, and possibly the assistance of Norwegian lawyers to make sure reforms are actually carried out.
(I have this recurring dream of Norway invading the US and implementing a massive rule of law project for which I am hired to work as the national assistant to a dashingly attractive Norwegian lawyer. It's a good dream.)
So basically, if things happen in Washington they are all part of 'democracy' and if they happen in Africa they are deemed part of the transition from whatever system they have in Africa to 'democracy' ...great list!
Absolutely spot on. Much of the list applies to developing countries everywhere, and not only those in Africa.
Good one, Uma! Brilliant!
You are 100% right, Michael.
Great one!
That could very well be the reason why. And it is worth pointing out that all of the things listed do in fact happen, but they are not always the case.
Favoritism towards your home constituency: Washington: porkbarreling. Africa: vote-buying/corruption.
Not a perfect fit b/c drone use is not universal, but: Military Necessity/act of war v. extrajudicial killing.
Imperfect because aren't universal, but: Military Necessity/act of war v. extrajudicial killing
Sorry for double post, I didn't see it at the bottom.
US: Homeopathy, herbal medicine. Africa: witch doctor, voodoo
A place where several thousand people live: US = small town,elsewhere = village
This is nothing short of an amazing piece, I will be recommending this to others any time the subject of political favoritism comes up. Glad this showed up while doing a Google search on double standards!
Guanxi and Networking.
wonderful work! the way you discuss the subject i'm very impressed. i'll bookmark this webpage and be back more often to see more updates from you.
ayumi
www.brfe.net
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