Scientific Socialism in the Horn of Africa: Revisiting the Somali Socialist Economy

Socialism was popular in many parts of post-independence Africa. Somalia, an Afro-Marxist country, became a socialist state in October 1970, one year after a military takeover. This article aims to revisit the economy of socialist Somalia from 1970-1980 and discuss its achievements, failures, and co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Somali Studies 2021-06, Vol.8 (1), p.61-76
Main Author: Mohamed Muhumed, Muhumed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Development strategies
Emancipation
Eradication
Infrastructure
Marxist analysis
Poverty
Socialism
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Summary:Socialism was popular in many parts of post-independence Africa. Somalia, an Afro-Marxist country, became a socialist state in October 1970, one year after a military takeover. This article aims to revisit the economy of socialist Somalia from 1970-1980 and discuss its achievements, failures, and consequences. The performance of the socialist development strategy is specifically examined. Somalia's scientific socialism is also discussed in a wider African context. Although several Afro-Marxist countries adopted similar models of scientific socialism, countries like Ghana and Tanzania were very different from Somalia and embraced different models of African socialism. After all, socialism failed to accomplish its goals in Africa and did not lead to development, prosperity, economic emancipation, and poverty eradication. The experience was no different in Somalia. Despite notable achievements in the first few years, particularly in infrastructure, education, and health, Somalia remained a poor, underdeveloped, and economically dependent country after adopting scientific socialism.
ISSN:2056-5674
2056-5682
2056-5682
DOI:10.31920/2056-5682/2021/v8n1a3