21st Century: A Century of Self-determination

Definition of terms: Capitalist- Rich legal persons focused on profit making.

Nearly 100 years ago, Vladimir Lenin predicted the collapse of capitalism and the rise of communism across the globe. His main argument was that capitalists' accumulation of financial capital would reach a saturation point, leading to the collapse of economies and, finally, the destruction of capitalism. Many economists agree that the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis marked the saturation point of the accumulation of financial capital by capitalists that Lenin had predicted, almost leading to the collapse of the major capitalist economies.

Several government interventions that led to the bailing out of capitalists made capitalism survive this predicted collapse. However, many middle and low-class people felt disappointed by their governments because they bailed out these capitalists who had dug their graves by driving their economies into this crisis. They were disappointed because their states quickly gave these capitalists billions of dollars to save them from bankruptcy. Yet, the many poor or middle-class masses do not have adequate social welfare programs to assist them in getting by each day.
Unfortunately, the laws that try to provide for the social welfare of the poor and the middle class are met with unnecessary debate and rejection due to the capitalists' unwillingness to spend on social welfare. On the other hand, the laws that bail out the capitalists are quickly drafted and passed because capitalists are deemed more critical than proletarians. This example perfectly depicts capitalism's unjust nature, which increasingly irritates more people as time passes.
The wealthy (capitalists) are the ones who matter under capitalism. They control the governments and the fate of everyone, undermining the individual right to self-determination across the globe.

The selfish nature of capitalism has promoted all forms of vices that threaten its collapse. If not the destruction of capitalism, then this skepticism endangers the existence of most capitalist governments. Capitalism has led to the rise of petty politics marred with corruption that hinders service delivery to the masses. Corruption comes in the form of nepotism, tribalism, ethnocentrism, racism, xenophobia, religious discrimination, and much more, as capitalists accumulate more capital while locking out the competition or fair distribution of resources.
This occurrence undermined our forefathers' dreams and agreements when they came together to create nations that offered the equal opportunity, protection, and justice for all. We are called citizens of one country or the other for these reasons (opportunity, security, and justice). A nation or a state is made by groups of people who come together and enter into an agreement to form institutions that can guarantee their protection, create opportunities for prosperity, and settle disputes among them fairly and respectfully.
The failure of capitalist governments to recognize these fundamental reasons for the creation of states by people spurs the growth of skepticism against capitalist governments in the 21st century. The selfish nature of capitalism and the greedy nature of humans has increased calls for cessation by significant pockets of populations who feel short-changed by their allegiance to their countries as citizens. Many nations are threatened by the breakup of the various units that formed them, as many people recognize their rights to self-determination. Many people realize today that they form the state and government, not vice versa. Countries are just institutions made by agreement among different groups of people. A group or groups may always feel short-changed by these arrangements. They deserve a right to opt out of the union or agreement, especially when the union fails to promote cohesion through truth, justice, and equal opportunity.
Unfortunately, political leaders, corrupted by the power excessively harnessed through capitalism, tend to undermine individuals' right to self-determination. We saw such a case recently in Catalonia, where the Spanish government shamefully thwarted a referendum for the people of Catalonia to break away from Spain.

Regardless of the occurrences in Catalonia, the time has come for capitalists and capitalist governments to realize that this century is a century where their very existence is under threat. Many struggling (economically) masses are beginning to review their relationships with the many underperforming capitalist governments worldwide. Thwarting people's determination to self-determine can never succeed. It did not succeed in the past, as demonstrated by the revolutions of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries in America, France, Russia, Cuba, and Africa.


The push for a referendum in Catalonia; the Independence referendum of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Palestinian struggle for independence; the Br-exit; the Scottish referendum; the formation of South Sudan are clear indications of the imminent collapse of capitalism or the underperforming capitalist governments. Admittedly, this century is a century of self-determination.

Monogamy versus Polygamy

Polygamy refers to the cultural practice of a man or a woman having several wives or husbands. It is common among African people and Muslims. On the other hand, monogamy refers to the cultural practice of marriage between a husband and a wife. It is common among Europeans, North Americans, South Americans, and Christians.

Globalization has led to the clash of different cultures sparking several debates. One significant debate concerns monogamy and polygamy and tries to identify which is better. I want to discuss faithfulness as a point rather than delve into the debate.
Colonization spread western culture in new continents such as the Americas, Africa, and Asia. These colonizers introduced new laws, religions, and practices into the new regions that they occupied. Adopting Christianity in several parts of Africa challenged the long-held practice of Polygamy in Africa. Many Christian denominations vouch for monogamy. However, many Africans, although Christians, still consider polygamy an acceptable cultural practice.
The West, like always, criticizes polygamy as one of the "backward" cultures of Africans. They have used feminism and gender studies to criticize polygamy as a form of sexual and economic exploitation and degradation of both women and men. I will focus on the sexual exploitation part and discuss it from a different point of view.
The West has promoted monogamy for a long time. However, my primary concern is the high divorce rates in monogamous marriages. Divorce rates in the US and Europe are very high, which may indicate that monogamous marriages do not form strong bonds between couples. Infidelity or unfaithfulness is a primary cause for the breakup of these marriages.

Many a time, we see Westerners touring our beaches here in Africa. They Indulge in promiscuous behavior with our young men and women that patrol our beaches as sex workers. A majority of these promiscuous westerners are married. This occurrence makes me wonder why Westerners engage in promiscuity far away from their homes, where their spouses are nowhere to supervise them. It could be that monogamous marriages do not satisfy their sexual desires.
Besides, feminists and gender activists should know that promiscuous men and women in monogamous marriages are the greatest abusers of both womanhood and manhood. Engaging in a sexual relationship with somebody and failing to fulfill your responsibility as a partner is the highest form of sexual exploitation. Married men who "sleep" with other women besides their wives exploit these other women sexually because they do not exercise social, emotional, and economic responsibilities towards these women. Similarly, married women who "sleep" with other men besides their husbands exploit these men sexually because they do not exercise social, economic, and emotional responsibilities towards these men. Extramarital affairs are illegal and thus prevent those who engage in them from supporting their sexual partners. The result is the sexual exploitation of extramarital affairs partners by married people. Therefore, monogamous setups insult both manhood and womanhood through infidelity.

Unlike monogamy, polygamy discourages the irresponsibility common in monogamous setups where men and women are exploited sexually by married people. Polygamous setups allow both men and women to marry the people they get attracted to after their previous marriage of unions. These marriages formalize and normalize relationships and enable males and females to fulfill all their responsibilities towards their newly acquired life partners. Therefore, women or men dating married people in polygamous setups are less likely to be sexually exploited because there are formal and recognized channels where they can get married to married people and have their already married partners fulfill all the duties that they have towards them.

This must be the main reason why Africans practice polygamy. Their societies discourage irresponsibility caused by infidelity, such as the sexual exploitation of men and women, which is common in monogamous setups.

Parents or Children, Who Owe the Other?

Children live their lives believing they owe their parents a lot of favor. This belief develops because parents spend their whole life taking care of them. Parents invest millions of shillings in taking care of their children. Therefore, many people claim that children cannot repay the care they receive from their parents during their growth and development. People spend their lives trying to repay their parents’ efforts in bringing them up, which is honorable. However, is it true that our parents did us a favor by bringing us up? Is it a favor that we ought to repay? These two questions ring in my mind all the time.

Firstly, nobody ever requested anyone for birth. Nobody ever applied anywhere for birth. The decision for our birth was made by one, if not both, of our parents. Regardless of the circumstances (love, rape, etc.), the decision to have a child solely lies with the parent, family, or society. A couple can decide to have a child; a family can pressurize a couple to have a child, or a society can prevent a parent from having an abortion through laws that prohibit abortions. Sometimes, health can also play a part in the decision of birth. For example, a parent may not opt for abortion because it risks her health. This challenge needs further exploration. However, this article focuses on parents, family, and society as decision-makers for birth. The decision to give birth lies with the parents, the family, society, and nature (health concerns).

Since children do not decide to be born, they are the products or consequences of their parents’, families’, and societies’ decisions. It is parents, families, and society that bring children into existence. Therefore, they are responsible for living with the products or consequences of their decisions. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the parent to take good care of the children.

Responsibilities are not favors. Parents, families, and societies have to do what they ought to do for their children because they decided to have them. Although it may sound harsh, children owe parents nothing. You do not become indebted to a person who fulfills their responsibility towards you.

Parents owe children a lot. They owe children because they brought them into this world to live unhealthy life from birth to death. According to the WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Rarely do people meet this criterion of health. This implies that nearly all of us are unhealthy every second of our lives. So why should children feel indebted to their parents, yet they spend every second of their lives unhealthy? Our parents owe us our entire lives.