David Maranz in his book African Friends and Money Matters shed’s light on how African’s and Westerners have different approaches to dealing with and thinking about money. Maranz states that the purpose of his book is twofold: First, he aims at helping people to better understand how the “African economic and social systems work on the level of individuals, so that Africans and Westerners may build more meaningful relationships.” (2) Maranz’s second aim of his book is that it “will contribute to Westerners having greater respect for a unique economic system that accomplishes its main purposes very well, contrary to so many impressions that the economic systems of Africa do not work well.” (2) On the back cover of the book the gist of his writing is summed up well:
The author deals with everyday life in Africa. He first introduces the very different goals of African and Western economic systems and then presents ninety observations of African behaviors related to money matters. Explanatory comments are given that show how each one works out in real life. He illustrates his and others’ experiences with anecdotes from across the continent. [….] The result is that the reader is able to make sense of customs that at first seem incomprehensible.
In this quote the two main subject matters of the book are highlighted. The first is a brief introduction of the differing goals of African and Western economic systems. Even though Maranz only touches on this briefly it is a fundamental insight which underlies everything else that he addresses in the book. Maranz points out that, “Africa and the West have each developed a very distinct economic system. Each system has grown out of particular historical conditions that were very different. And both these ways of handling financial matters have been very successful in the context in which they developed.” (1) This might sound surprising but it becomes easier to understand when we realize that the economic systems have different end goals in mind. Maranz argues that the most fundamental economic consideration in the majority of African societies is “the distribution of economic resources so that all persons may have their minimum needs met, or at least that they may survive. This distribution is the African social security system.” (4). In contrast, the most fundamental economic consideration in Western societies “is the accumulation of capital and wealth.” (5) Both economic systems are quite successful in meeting their end goal. Thus a Westerner who evaluates the African economic systems according to Western economic goals, fails to take into consideration the end goal of the African economic system. Blaine Harden critiques this sort of evaluation when he writes:
Westerners who give money and economic advice to Africa, as well as those who write about the continent, spend far too much time looking in the wrong direction. We concentrate our energies on semificitional, barely functional, frequently irrelevant Western imports: central bureaucracies, ministerial policy papers, macroeconomic statistics, and the ‘sincerity’ of leadership commitment to free-market reform. All of which can be condemned, applauded, or made fun of within easy walking distance of a four-star hotel. Meanwhile, we are ignorant of the indigenous system that helps hold the whole…together. (IX)
This does not mean that there is no grounds for critiquing the Western or the African economic system, but one must acknowledge the differing economic systems function quite well and are mostly successful in meeting their end goal.
Another categorical difference between Western and African societies is that Westerners tend to think in terms of marcrosolutions while Africans tend to think in terms of microsolutions. Maranz explains:
A microsolution is an action that gives a person a tiny, immediate advantage over a competitor in a socially acceptable way. Perhaps this is the only behavior that is open to them because of their relative powerlessness and lack of resources. This is seen, for example on city streets, where minibus drivers stop anywhere riders want to et on or off, frequently blocking traffic in the process. Although there are designated minibus stops, neither drivers nor the police seem to be concerned about the resultant obstruction of traffic. So the microstrategy is to allow drivers to gain the little advantages they can to get ahead of other minibuses, rather than to seek large-scale solutions, macrosolutions, by organizing traffic, enforcing the laws, constructing overpasses and in other ways building an efficient macrosystem that would benefit the whole society, including minibus drivers. (5)
Thus Western societies and African societies have fundamentally different approach to solving economic problems.
The second subject matter that Maranz addresses in his book are ninety observations of African behavior related to personal and family financial matters. Instead of recounting all ninety observations I will highlight several interrelated observations that address the issue of finances in a cross-cultural friendship.
For Westerners “friends and money don’t mix.” I have come to agree with this statement drawing on my own experience of mixing friendship with money matters while working as a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. Suddenly all my interactions with friends turned into business relationships. Either I was seeking to do business or they were talking to me about their investments. For Westerners a friendship is quite different from a business relationship. Here are several of Maranz’s observation that highlight the difference between Westerners and Africans when it comes to money matters and friendship:
1. The financial need that occurs first has firs claim on the available resources.
7. Being involved financially and materially with friends and relatives is a very important element of social interaction.
7W. Westerners distrust friendships that regularly include financial or material exchanges.
9. The financial implications of friendship and solidarity go beyond immediate friends to include secondary relationships.
25. A network of friends is a network of resources.
25W. Disinterested friendship is the ideal in the West. Any friendship that includes material considerations is suspect.
Some of my most frustrating experiences with friends and acquaintances from Africa had to do with money. I’ve approached the friendship with the Western ideal of having common interests, enjoying a cross-cultural friendship, giving and receiving emotional support, etc. However, my African acquaintance approached me from their cultural perspective where friends help each other meet financial needs and there is more mutual dependence and solidarity with each other. Thus are culturally different approach to friendship and money matters led to miscommunication and frustration.
I have reconnected with African friends whom I haven’t seen or talked to in a long time and one of their first things that they shared with me was some of their financial needs. For me this was such a turn off since I felt that they were only interested in me because I have money. Maranz observation and anecdotal stories helps to avoid such miscommunication by highlighting the cultural differences. His book accomplishes the goal of helping Westerners and African’s alike to understand each other’s cultural differences, reduce miscommunication which ultimately leads to better and deeper relationships.
For all those who have read this book, I would be interested to hear how it has helped you to understand better things that have frustrated you in your interactions with African / Western friends and acquaintances?
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