Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China

With the Fourth Industrial Revolution underway, the question that remains largely unanswered pertains to the extent to which Africa has positioned itself to rise up to the occasion. While opportunities were lost as the First, Second and Third Industrial Revolutions culminated in slavery, colonialism...

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Main Authors: Torque Mude, Sadiki Maeresera, Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura
Other Authors: Midlands State University
Format: book part
Language:English
Published: Springer, Cham 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5228
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author Torque Mude
Sadiki Maeresera
Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura
author2 Midlands State University
author_facet Midlands State University
Torque Mude
Sadiki Maeresera
Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura
author_sort Torque Mude
collection DSpace
description With the Fourth Industrial Revolution underway, the question that remains largely unanswered pertains to the extent to which Africa has positioned itself to rise up to the occasion. While opportunities were lost as the First, Second and Third Industrial Revolutions culminated in slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism respectively, it can be argued that history can possibly repeat itself with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Against this background, the objective of this chapter is to examine the trajectory of Africa’s involvement in this twenty-first century phenomenon. The main thesis of this chapter is that African states, collectively or individually, should draw lessons from China in order to benefit from the unfolding revolution. Having encountered marginalisation, resource exploitation and other effects of capitalism in the wake of the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, China was left in economic quagmire. Despite economic challenges, China exploited the opportunities presented by the Third Industrial Revolution whose mainstay were information technology and electronics resulting in the automation of production. Subsequently, mass production, research and development, growth of financial base and strength of the Chinese domestic market made China the fastest-growing economy and a global economic powerhouse. Having said the above, this chapter explores how Africa can draw lessons from China’s rise to the occasion of the Third Industrial Revolution to emerge as a global economic giant. It is maintained in the chapter that such lessons will go a long way in Africa’s generation of positive results from the Forth Industrial Revolution.
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spelling ir-11408-52282022-11-21T09:38:10Z Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China Torque Mude Sadiki Maeresera Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura Midlands State University Zimbabwe National Defence University University of the Free State Africa Fourth Industrial Revolution China Resource exploitation Second Industrial Revolution With the Fourth Industrial Revolution underway, the question that remains largely unanswered pertains to the extent to which Africa has positioned itself to rise up to the occasion. While opportunities were lost as the First, Second and Third Industrial Revolutions culminated in slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism respectively, it can be argued that history can possibly repeat itself with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Against this background, the objective of this chapter is to examine the trajectory of Africa’s involvement in this twenty-first century phenomenon. The main thesis of this chapter is that African states, collectively or individually, should draw lessons from China in order to benefit from the unfolding revolution. Having encountered marginalisation, resource exploitation and other effects of capitalism in the wake of the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, China was left in economic quagmire. Despite economic challenges, China exploited the opportunities presented by the Third Industrial Revolution whose mainstay were information technology and electronics resulting in the automation of production. Subsequently, mass production, research and development, growth of financial base and strength of the Chinese domestic market made China the fastest-growing economy and a global economic powerhouse. Having said the above, this chapter explores how Africa can draw lessons from China’s rise to the occasion of the Third Industrial Revolution to emerge as a global economic giant. It is maintained in the chapter that such lessons will go a long way in Africa’s generation of positive results from the Forth Industrial Revolution. 109 124 2022-11-21T09:38:09Z 2022-11-21T09:38:09Z 2022 book part https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5228 10.1007/978-3-030-87524-4_6 en Africa and the Fourth Industrial Revolution 978-3-030-87524-4 open Springer, Cham
spellingShingle Africa
Fourth Industrial Revolution
China
Resource exploitation
Second Industrial Revolution
Torque Mude
Sadiki Maeresera
Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura
Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China
title Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China
title_full Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China
title_fullStr Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China
title_full_unstemmed Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China
title_short Rising to the Occasion: Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Lessons from China
title_sort rising to the occasion: africa, the fourth industrial revolution and lessons from china
topic Africa
Fourth Industrial Revolution
China
Resource exploitation
Second Industrial Revolution
url https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5228
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