African Friends And Money Matters Summary

The relationship between Africans and “Westerners” has been unique throughout history. This might lead one to wonder how it might be improved. African Friends and Money Matters:Observations from Africa is a modern ethnographic book written by David E Maranz. In this book he provides Westerners a way to comprehend money and how it pertains to kinship within Africa. To do this, he uses his experiences to give ninety concepts relating to the economy in sub-Saharan Africa and compares them to what would typically be expected in the Western hemisphere of the world. He asserts that understanding the use of money in an African community will help Westerners strengthen their ties with Africans across the world. Throughout African Friends and Money Matters, David E Maranz remains neutral as to which system is better. He …show more content…
This leaves one to wonder what the consequences of government works are relating to the correspondence of Westerners and Africans. In a brief two pages Maranz mentions that the government in Africa gives money to those in power and those close to them. He cites an African Prime Minister who says, “In Africa, it is misery above all that rips our countries apart. In our country, as in Liberia or in Rwanda, when the cake becomes too small, those dancing around it bring out their knives. The cake is the State, the only feeding trough our poor countries have” (113). He is trying to say that when there are limited resources, those in power serve themselves first. It is also interesting to note that this happening does not only occur in one country. Rather, it exists throughout Africa. Maranz suggests that this is a contributing factor to wars that occur there. Ergo, we see that government has a significant role in African life, but more research is needed to manifest how it influences Western and African