ABSTRACT
“Every now and again a new era requires a new word or phrase to better encapsulate the changed times” The Africapitalist tells us in its first feature (Rundell, 2014). The first reaction of critical scholarship when encountering a new word or phrase that attracts widespread enthusiasm among political, corporate or academic elites should not be to passionately embrace it, but rather to ask where it comes from – why do we now speak about it? What world does it imagine? What is emphasized and, more importantly, omitted in light of this? Can it deliver on its promises? This distinguishes critical scholarship from social fields which readily take certain words or phrases for granted or simply embrace it as the new discourse to follow. In light of these questions, this contribution provides a critical genealogical account of the notion of Africapitalism as well as an assessment of the future(s) it imagines, what it emphasizes and what it silences, and its potential to transform African economies in a sustainable manner. The inspiration here comes from authors such as Sachs (2010 [1992]) and Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2015), who have exposed how unconscious, inherited and power-laden structures “set boundaries on the thinking of our epoch” (Sachs, (2010 [1992], p. xix).
