Dead Aid: A Critical View of Aid to Africa From an Ethical Perspective

Abstract

Poverty, debt and under-development have plagues the African continent for decades. At the advent of independence, foreign aid/development assistance was adopted as a driver for economic development and poverty reduction. Over sixty years of aid to Africa yet the continent, especially sub-Saharan Africa is still poverty stricken, underdeveloped and debt ridden. In view of this, the study looks at the history and arguments for and against foreign aid, it implications and results to seek a solution for this African problem. Of particular interest and to answer the aims and research question, is the ethics behind aid, hence the dissertation looks at virtue, deontology and utilitarian ethics as possible matches to aid. Ubuntu as an African ethical philosophy is also explored.