Convoy of Chinese peacekeepers in Liberia. Chinese peacekeepers are helping Liberia with stability maintenance and infrastructure construction for a long time
I remember a question I asked my high school political teacher when I was ignorant of the world: "Is the United States so powerful because they have the best system in the world?" ”
The teacher did not answer my "milky smell" and somewhat arbitrary question, but threw out another proposition -
"The answer you want is not in the United States, but in Liberia, a country in West Africa."
At the time, I didn't know what this "Liberia" was, and I didn't delve into it. However, in today's turbulent and fickle world situation, I gradually understood the teacher's words.
Heavily armed New York police officers in a riot in the United States in May 2020
It turns out that the American system really only works for the United States, or should I say it only suits Americans.
At least in light of the mess in Liberia (The republic of Lberia), I can say that the American System is really not suitable for Liberia.
Liberia, a country in west Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world, is interestingly founded by American slaves
According to a report released by the United Nations, Liberia is one of the least developed countries in the world. More than half of its population lives in extreme poverty and has a standard of living below the United Nations minimum standards. The country's GDP is dismal, only about $3.3 billion, not even as high as the GDP of a county in China. Liberia's per capita GDP is only $677, or about 4,739 yuan.
Rural Liberia, where almost all children are malnourished
More than 72% of the country's population is agricultural, and the level of urbanization is only about the same as in China's 1940s and 1950s. It has a population of more than 4.7 million and a land area of only 110,000 square kilometers. It can be said that Liberia is a standard "poor country".
The landscape, filthy and disorderly management of Liberian markets is the norm here, and there are a large number of illegal goods circulating here
Yet the most striking part of the country is not poverty and backwardness, which is almost the norm in many Third World countries. What really deserves a history book is its historical roots—a country founded by liberated Slave American slaves that follows the American system in a serious way.
There is no other "semicolon" in the world, only this one. It can be said that Liberia is a country that the United States "grew up with".
Unbelief? Take a look at its flag:
A Liberian woman holds the Liberian flag, which is modeled after the American flag
Is it déjà vu? Yes, this flag is a replica of the American flag, just as this country was built in imitation of the United States. In fact, the English name of Liberia, "liberia", which literally translates to "the land of free people", can be said to have exhausted the history of Liberia. To put it bluntly, this is a "place where American black slaves turned around and became masters after liberation."
Liberian President George Weah, who was a player in the Liberian national football team before becoming president. He was also the world's first star-turned-president
"Free men", American system, rich African continent, non-colonial .... Together, these terms seem to make it easy to create a "rich and civilized country", and Liberia seems to be the "African America" created by heaven. However, is this the case? Why is today's "African America" so "miserable and miserable"?
The Japanese-American scholar Francis Fukuyama has written several books on sociology and civilization, and his famous book", The End of History and the Last Man, has a well-known and high-profile view - the end of history.
You don't have to rack your brains to think about this theory, I can tell you directly what the essence of this historical conclusion is, it is very simple:
Human history will eventually lead to a supreme form, the "end," which is certainly the total freedom and high degree of democracy of all mankind. In a nutshell, when everyone wants to do whatever they want, and the system that can laugh at the end is "liberal capitalism", it is clear that fukuyama old man refers to the "American system". In fact, this seemingly advanced argument can be summed up in one sentence - "American system No.1".
Fukuyama, born in 1952, graduated from Harvard University in political science and is now a senior scholar at the U.S. Department of State
However, Mr. Fukuyama, and all those who are obsessed with the American system, why can't the American system, which the Americans claim to be "the first in the world", save Liberia?
As Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia and Africa's first-ever woman president, put it: "Liberia, more than not, is a man-made disaster."
In the American movie "The King of War", cage plays an arms dealer who has come to Liberia many times to sell arms to warlords
Returning from the United States to Africa, the American black slaves are going to turn around and become masters this time?
Liberia has a peculiar history, although it is on the African continent, but its history and destiny are dominated by some "Americans". If you want to talk about the history of Liberia, you have to start with the United States.
On the west coast of Africa, Liberia is known as the "Grain Coast", adjacent to the "Gold Coast" and "Slave Coast", which are ports opened by colonists
It is said that from the 15th century to the 18th century, the triangular trade of Western colonizers was in the ascendant, and a large number of blacks were shipped to the Americas to serve as cheap labor. About 5 percent of these blacks were shipped to the United States (about 600,000 people), mainly in the South (about 450,000).
Schematic diagram of triangular trade. The triangular trade was roughly the export of black slaves from Africa, cheap industrial goods from Europe, and crop raw materials from the Americas
In the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War (1861-1865) broke out, when American society was in a period of transition, with a surge of ideas, a new one, and various political and national forces were seeking a new path. In 1862, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation de jure abolished slavery that had existed in the United States for more than 200 years.
Oil painting of u.S. President Abraham Lincoln convening a rally. Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and the "Greatest American" by the Americans.
Slavery was abolished, the war was over, and the planters of the American South could only reluctantly and reluctantly open their doors and watch as these black slaves, who had not long ago "inherited their own property from their fathers," were liberated.
Oil painting on a plantation in the American South
For a time, blacks wandered around American society, and these liberated black slaves were so overwhelmed by the oppression of Southern society that more than 70 percent of the blacks rushed to the North and took root in the cities.
These were no longer slave blacks, commonly known as "Free Men", that is, black people with personal freedom and independent development rights.
In the Civil War at the Battle of Vicksburg, the artillery positions of the Confederate Army
But in fact, the concept of "free man" did not appear after the Civil War.
Let's rewind, in fact, as early as 1810, there were already more than 180,000 "free blacks" in the American Northern society, and the population of the North increased sharply after the abolitionist movement began. With the in-depth development of the abolitionist movement, there were more and more "free blacks" in the northern society of the United States.
As soon as the population is large, eating becomes a problem.
In the 1860s, the liberated Black Men of the American South
Because factories in the North of the United States had limited capacity, the sudden black laborers quickly crowded out the living space of white workers. Over time, new contradictions began to brew again.
"You say you are free, but you can't grab your job!" The northern whites said so.
We always think that the black people on American plantations live a dark life, but in fact, according to historical records, the living conditions of black people in the North are even worse than those of Black People in the South. According to incomplete statistics, the average working hours of blacks in the North in the 19th century were as high as 14 hours, more than that of Blacks in the South, and because of poor living conditions, overloaded labor, noise and pollution in industrial areas, their mortality rate far exceeded that of Southern black slaves.
Truely and truly echoed Lenin's words - "Nothing but freedom."
Black workers in factories in the Detroit area of the United States in the 19th century
Quite simply, plantation owners treated blacks as property and were protected; The capitalists, on the other hand, saw the Negroes as cash cows and had to be squeezed.
With the collision of various social contradictions, racial contradictions arose in the North of the United States earlier than in the South. The situation was complicated, hundreds of thousands of free blacks and whites competing for living space, a large number of blacks dissatisfied with factory exploitation, riots seemed to be on the verge of breaking out, and at the same time they had always been obsessed with the "Southern compatriots", which also made the Southern planters feel like needles. Both Northern whites and Southern whites remained wary of the free Blacks of the North.
Some want to go back to Africa, while others want the United States to introduce bills to protect their rights. The Northern United States was thus plunged into chaos, and Congress was anxious about the problem of these free blacks.
West Coast of Africa
Finally, in 1787, after seeing the British successfully repatriate a group of slaves to Africa (later Sierra Leone), the "abolitionists" in the United States were given a shot in the arm. In 1816, in order to resolve the contradictions and for the sake of "colonial expansion", the Americans concocted this practice.
"Yes! Why not just send them back to Africa? ”
In order not to fight with Britain in Africa, U.S. President Monroe used congressional appropriations to form the American Colonization Society and began exporting population to West Africa under its name.
The American Colonial Society is an unofficial organization, but in fact manipulated by the U.S. government
Thus, with the support of both the Church (for missionary purposes) and Congress (for the establishment of American colonies in Africa), the Americans officially began to "colonize." They sent people to British Sierra Leone to learn from the scriptures, in order to find a borderland, and in order to avoid direct conflict with the British, they went all the way south to finally find a place of "abundant grain and fertile land", where tropical forests overlapped and sparsely populated.
This was later Liberia.
In 1736, European colonists drew a map of West Africa, the Grain Coast was Liberia, and the Gold Coast was Ghana
In 1820, the first 88 free blacks, led by white priests, came to West Africa and declared defeat due to unsatisfactory water. In 1821, the Americans regrouped, and with the protection of the American army, the second group of 33 free blacks and the first group of survivors finally managed to reach the west African coast.
Drawing of the American Colonial Society deporting free blacks
They found a local chieftain, both courtesy and soldier, threatened him with a gun to sell the land, and finally sold a plot of land of more than 14,000 kilometers for only $300, which is the capital of Liberia, Monrovia (this is the name of the place in honor of U.S. President Monroe).
"You've got a gun, what's there to say?"
The country was also named "The Land of Freedom", and Liberia became the first republic in Africa, which became the colonial point and bridgehead of the United States in Africa, and began an African experiment of the "American system".
In 1821, free blacks in the United States opened Up Monrovia, thus beginning the history of the founding of Liberia
Dragon slayers turn into dragons, and the liberated black Americans become colonists?
The emergence of Monrovia has greatly boosted the confidence of the "abolitionists" in the United States. For the first time, Americans began to dream of a "colonial empire," determined to let these free blacks help the United States establish a colony as a mother country.
Aerial view of Monrovia. Monrovia was the capital of Liberia and the first American colony in Africa
The American Colonial Society immediately set out and launched leaflets calling on the states to follow suit, and a large number of blacks seemed to see hope and resolutely stepped on the "homecoming" ship.
Colonial Society poster: "Freedom To Africa" means "Step on the Land of Freedom"
At the instigation of the association, state governments successively deported free blacks. By 1870, the Colonial Society had deported more than 17,000 black Americans. It's interesting to say that these people are called "African American" in the United States and "American Liberian" in Liberia.
Schematic of early U.S. colonies established in the Liberian area
In 1839, the free states around Monrovia chose to unite to resist the attack of the indigenous blacks, announced the formation of the Federation of Liberia, and based on the U.S. Constitution, the "Federal Constitution of Liberia" was developed according to Tusso, and since then the prototype of Liberia has been formed. At this time, Liberia, to put it bluntly, was just a state in the United States, but the black majority.
The coat of arms of the Federation of Liberia: the sailing ship symbolizes the colonizer, the white dove symbolizes peace, and the coconut tree symbolizes the west coast of Africa
Although the Federation of Liberia was established, there were many problems. The first is the conflict with the indigenous blacks, the free black people regard themselves as superior, and with the support of the US government, they constantly annex land and plunder resources, accumulating many contradictions; The second is the british conflict, the British were originally unhappy with the Americans, and now the Americans have opened colonies under their own eyes.
Finally, after 1841, Governor Roberts (negro), in order to expand revenues, announced a tax increase on all goods, angering the British. The British were almost angry: "You are a colony, why do you collect taxes?" ”
Commemorative sculpture of Liberia's first president, Roberts
In desperation, in order to appease the anger of the British and to send them into an army, the American Colonial Association directly declared: "Liberia is an independent country, not a colony." As soon as this statement came out, Liberia had a new identity, and in 1847 the Republic of Liberia was proclaimed.
Seaside scenery of Monrovia
After independence, Liberia began to drift. Externally, with the wings of the Americans, they began to engage in east and west, constantly expanding their territory, and even extended their hands to the colonies of the French and British; Internally, the dragon slayers became evil dragons, and after these black slave descendants became the ruling class, they claimed to be from the "civilized world" and began to oppress the indigenous black people, with 5% of the population, controlling state power and more than 60% of state property.
To elaborate, until 1980, Liberia's president was still black-Hispanic.
In 1920, Liberian President Charles (center) and his family and staff were photographed, all of whom followed a typical American way of life
Politically, they adopted American-style democracy, but only 5% of black Americans were treated as citizens; Economically, with a capitalist system but no industrial and commercial base, Liberia lost financial support from the United States, its exports were greatly reduced, and it had to sell grain, even to the point of making a living by selling land and resources. For example, in 1926, firestone received 4% of Liberia's rubber forest for only $500 million, with a lease of 100 years (equivalent to cede).
The Rubber Base of The Forge in Liberia. The leases here are valid until 2025 and can be renewed permanently
For the first time, the American system fell behind, and Liberia deteriorated after independence. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that every system must be adapted to local conditions, and it is something that is bred by a national culture and experience.
How could the conditions of Liberia, far away in West Africa, fit into the American system developed by the elite of the thirteen States of North America?
Synonymous with chaos and poverty, why is Liberia doomed?
What is the superiority of the American system? The American system is actually only suitable for the United States, or should I say only suitable for building on a strong industrial foundation. There is no industry in Liberia, and as we said earlier, more than 70 per cent of the country is farmers.
Office of an official in Liberia
The power of the president of the United States is actually very large, don't look at the balance of the three powers, but in fact, congress and the court have to look at the president's face. The reason why the United States gives people the impression that "the president is very good at bullying" is mainly because the US president's power "runs into walls everywhere". Quite simply, who did the United States meet together when it was founded? They are all local (states) strong! The power of the president of the United States comes from them.
The president of the United States wants money, the big guys come together, they want guns, the big guys buy together, they want soldiers, or the big guys have to recruit together.
Oil paintings on the Constituent Assembly of the United States
The system itself is a natural "dictator system" that needs checks and balances; But Liberia is different, black Americans hold everything, power, money, people, so the Liberian president can almost single-handedly cover the sky.
For a long time after independence, Liberian society was divided, with Black Americans living in coastal cities, holding ports and resources, having the right to dialogue directly with the United States, following the American way of life, and living a life of "civilized people", while the inland rainforest was scattered with Indigenous tribes that accounted for 95% of the country's population, and poverty, backwardness and ignorance still ruled there.
Life photos of Liberians of American descent
After the end of the American Civil War in 1865, all blacks became "free men" overnight, the colonial association lost its meaning, and colonial officials were forced to withdraw from Liberia, and the United States began to re-evaluate Liberia's values.
Map of Liberia in 1856
"Yeah, they're all free people now, can't they all be sent away?"
The Lincoln administration officially recognized Liberia's independence, leaving the Americans with nothing left behind, leaving only the "best in the world" American system. One thing Liberia has learned very well is the "elite politics" of the United States.
As mentioned earlier, 5% of people are in control of everything. These 17,000 people have the right to vote and rule the remaining 750,000 people. The 1930 Report of the League of Nations (the predecessor of the United Nations) was even more explicit – "Liberia is a national slave estate".
The standard of living among non-Hispanic Liberians is extremely poor, with more than 80 per cent of the population living in extreme poverty
Over time, a new "oppressor class" emerged in Liberia, and in a 1920 American report, it was written that "The American Liberians used the Natives as slaves, and the most insignificant Ofosks of The American Liberians served by 6 people." In the early 20th century, The American Liberians set a policy of "uniting the United States", blindly pandering to the old suzerainty of the United States diplomatically, but uniting with local chiefs to frantically squeeze tribal residents in domestic affairs.
Women workers working in Liberian rubber plantations, Liberia's largest rubber base is owned by a United States company
What kind of hut tax, marriage tax, childbirth tax abound, all kinds of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes can squeeze a tribal resident into "thatch". The whole country is dependent on the United States, and tariff sovereignty is controlled by the Americans (déjà vu?). ), the largest rubber industrial park in China is owned by the American company.
Indigenous Liberians built thatched huts
In the 1920s, Liberia was almost a paradise for international capital, and public facilities such as roads, railways, and hospitals in the country were built by international capital. Indigenous people who could not pay taxes or paid taxes were "sold piglets" by meat eaters to work on African plantations.
Internationally stunned, no one can say clearly "why do oppressed blacks continue to oppress local blacks when they return to Africa"?
The Americans, on the other hand, turned a blind eye, calling Liberia a "parody of the American system" and claiming it had "the best standard of living in Africa." In 1912, the British attacked the current situation in Liberia, and the Americans even directly gave Liberia a "loan that would last forty years."
Street view of Monrovia
Everyone is dumbfounded when they look at it, the people are the "horses" of the United States, and Liberia has become one of the few countries in Africa that has not been colonized by European colonizers. During World War II, Liberia became temporarily rich by relying on the status of the US military's material transit station, and the Americans still attributed this to the superiority of the "American system".
After World War II, national liberation movements surged up, especially in Africa. In this Liberia, although there were no white colonists, there were black colonists, and at first they wanted to be confused.
The 1950s-1960s saw a wave of liberation on the African continent. The green areas are independent countries after World War II, and the red areas are independent countries before World War II
"We're not white people, we're African brothers."
But as the national independence movement grew, Liberia was also embroiled in accusations by international opinion. Entering the Cold War period, under the attack of the Soviet Union, the United States more or less no longer protected Liberia, and in 1964, Liberian President Tubman, in order to alleviate social contradictions, could only declare that "all Liberians are granted citizenship and equal status."
Liberian soldiers in the 1960s
But everyone who understands knows that this is just a stopgap measure. Because the American system is still in place, the president and his party still hold great power and cannot fundamentally shake the foundation of their rule, and there is no difference between the indigenous people who have obtained "citizenship rights" and the indigenous people.
In 1973, the international oil crisis broke out. The fiscal crisis in western countries was imminent, the demand for Liberia's minerals plummeted, and Liberia's finances went bankrupt overnight. In order to keep the government running, President Tobert went on a rampage and bloody crackdown, even to the point where the price of rice rose by 50%.
Liberian militia
Under the intertwining of various contradictions, in 1980, the young officer Doe rebelled and established a military government represented by indigenous peoples. But after the fall of the American Liberian government, the problem became more serious, first of all, Doe also learned from the American Liberians, began to favor his own tribe, and the expropriation was even more violent; Then the multitude of tribal forces began to rise, and the country's 16 large tribes immediately fell into a struggle for power.
In 1984, Doe (left) and the U.S. envoy, after the success of the Doey coup, immediately handed an olive branch to the United States
Under the persuasion of the United States, Doe verbally promised "democratic elections" and then turned around and arrested all his opponents. Good guys, unanimously elected president, a new dictator has emerged, still the darling of the American system. By the end of the 1980s, the Soviet Union was gradually defeated, and the United States no longer had to compete with the Soviet Union for the middle ground, so it no longer focused on Africa.
Without the support of the United States, Liberia immediately became a pot of porridge.
In 1989, an armed force called the "Patriotic National Front of Liberia" returned to the country, and the Liberian Civil War officially broke out, which caused Sierra Leone and other neighboring countries.
Armed warlords of Liberia
In 1990, Doe was killed, and the new leader was an American-Liberian named Taylor. This buddy is "amazing", almost the most standard "African warlord", Nicolas Cage movie "King of War", "Mad Dog Johnny" warlord prototype are him, the movie "Blood Diamond" in the diamond to buy arms is also the initiator is also him, the African warlord with the most baby soldiers is still him.
Poster for the movie "The King of War". The film tells the story of an arms dealer played by Cage
The civil war became more and more severe, completely destroying Liberia, the country's social foundation completely collapsed, and the people's living standards were even worse than in 1920. From the 1980s to the present day, the main food supply has been dependent on the United Nations, and its economic level is at the bottom in Africa.
Beginning in 1960, the red line was per capita GDP in sub-Saharan Africa and the blue line was Liberia's per capita GDP
The Civil War lasted until the 21st century, and Taylor made a lot of money on the "diamond-arms-dollar" model, but only controlled 1/3 of the country. Throughout the Civil War, the Americans did nothing.
After 2012, UN peacekeepers took over Liberia.
With the feats of China's peacekeeping forces, can Liberia be reborn?
After entering the new millennium, Taylor was internationally wanted and sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2012.
Just after Taylor's arrest, Chinese peacekeepers set foot on Liberia, a hot land. The mainland has sent more than 10,000 troops and helped Liberia build more than 7,500 kilometers of roads, exceeding liberia's past total road journey, transporting more than 930,000 tons of materials.
The Chinese peacekeepers in Liberia have been awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor seventeen times
So much so that international humanitarians said: "Liberia is inseparable from the Chinese peacekeeping force."
But in fact, Liberia is already a big mess, a completely underdeveloped country. At one point in 2014, Ebola once again plunged Liberia into chaos.
In 2014, riots broke out at the Ebola virus isolation point in the Monrovia region
However, in fact, Liberia's foundation is very good, it has not been colonized, there are no external troubles, the American system is not useless, and the real problem behind the decline of the United States in Africa is still irreconcilable class contradictions.
As the former President, Ms. Sirleaf, said , " Man-made disaster " .
When the protagonist of the movie "The King of War" comes to Monrovia, there is a line: "The outside of the city is the edge of hell." I think, more or less.
Ms. Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for defending women's rights
The current Liberian president, Weah, is a good footballer, not false, but can he give Liberia a new life, and can this American system save Liberia? We don't know.
Can he "shoot" with this "foot"? That's a Liberian thing.
An American Liberian girl