ABSTRACT
In present-day market-oriented universities, systems of managerial authority preside over all, and academic activity is subordinated to them. This stems from belief in another kind of magic, interconnected with confidence in the occult efficacy of the market, a faith in the transformative powers of corporate managerialism. Various universities in the US offer particularly striking instances of marketisation at work. The rise of neoliberalism that has brought the commodified, consumerist market university into being can be partly attributed to the enticing and superficially practical aspects of neoliberal notions. On account of its ambiguous, illusory qualities, the market has readily lent itself to association with the supernatural in Africa. The spirit world and the marketplace both exert a perilously enticing magic, whether supernatural or mercantile, in Africa and elsewhere. Aspects of capitalism and perceptions of the market are steeped in aspects of mystery and magic, not only in Africa but worldwide.
