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The Economics of Witchcraft in Africa
In this episode, we dive into the economic impacts of belief in witchcraft across various African societies. We examine multiple academic studies and articles highlighting how these beliefs permeate even educated and affluent demographics, influencing everything from entrepreneurship and governance to public health. Through the lens of these studies, we explore how such beliefs contribute to external locus of control and discourage rational problem-solving methods essential for economic development. The discussion spans across different African countries, revealing the deep-seated cultural contexts that impact societal progress and governance.
Malcolm Collins: Hello Simone. Today we are gonna be talking about a spicy topic. Oh no. Which is how belief in witches economically holds back Africa.
And we will be going over a, a number of articles on this. One is a great por piece, which is. How belief in which it holds Africa back or something like that. Oh, we'll get to in a second. Okay. Actually, I'll start with a quote from it because people might be hearing this and I think the way their brain is translating it is poor, uneducated people in Africa believe in which is, and these people are arguing somehow this affects everyone.
That is not what we are arguing here. Okay. So to quote from the article one might assume that formal education would provide a safeguard against magical thinking. However, research suggests that schooling alone is not sufficient. In a 2014 study, Henry Ryman and colleagues compared cognitive ability in epistemic rationality in Nigeria.
And Germany, they found belief in supernatural forces was prevalent. Even among the educated Nigerians. Surveys of African University students have reached similar findings In a sample of Nigerian students, many argued that western countries were more technologically advanced because they possessed magical powers that they refused to share was Africans, now I should note here, this came from a study called Witchcraft in African Development, Eric Cher. And it was published in 2014. So this is an academic study that goes and asks Nigerian college students, why are western countries wealthier? And their answer is, they have magic. They haven't shared with us that, that this is college students.
Nigeria. That's pretty wild. I wanna, I wanna clarify that the, the Afro Barometer survey shows that in some countries, educated people are more likely to believe in witchcraft, not less. These results underline that. The education system. So, so if you, this comes from a study called Power Politics in the Supernatural, exploring the role of witchcraft beliefs.
In gover for Government's development by Joanna Selfie Elson, Dan Bke and Bob Face. And specifically in Malawi populations, they found 74% of the population believed that witchcraft is an integral part of daily life. And educated residents were more likely to be inclined towards disbelief than less educated residents.
Simone Collins: More educated is more like, that's so interesting. And actually,
Malcolm Collins: same with social status, more social status, but more belief in witches. Less social status rush belief in witches.
Simone Collins: That is completely the opposite of what I would think. How is this happening?
Malcolm Collins: Well, what you are mis receiving is what is associated with social status and what is associated with education.
And this is what the West fundamentally doesn't understand. They think if you go and you learn what they tell you in. Education, you know, more of what's true, not just more of the mindset of the dominant culture within that region.
Oh, and what's actually
happening is when they are educated and they are not the country bumpkin.
You, you haven't even heard of witches. Let me explain to you the complicated nature of
Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago