I plan to live out my whole life knowing nothing about carrot farming, goat husbandry, fishing, roof construction, or car repair.
What's going on here is that Africa isn't really reaping the benefits of specialization of labor in the way the civilized world is. The guy in the example isn't even growing multiple carrots! When I get a problem with my roof, I'm not going to try to fix it myself after a crash course in Google-based roof repair. I'm going to pay someone else to do it for me. I do the same when I want to eat fish or goat, or fix my car. The whole point of a developed economy is that you don't know how to produce the stuff you need. Instead, you produce what you're good at producing, and everyone reaps the gains from trade.
The title of this piece strikes me as a little over-specific. What in sub-Saharan Africa doesn't suck?
What's going on here is that Africa isn't really reaping the benefits of specialization of labor in the way the civilized world is. The guy in the example isn't even growing multiple carrots! When I get a problem with my roof, I'm not going to try to fix it myself after a crash course in Google-based roof repair. I'm going to pay someone else to do it for me. I do the same when I want to eat fish or goat, or fix my car. The whole point of a developed economy is that you don't know how to produce the stuff you need. Instead, you produce what you're good at producing, and everyone reaps the gains from trade.
The title of this piece strikes me as a little over-specific. What in sub-Saharan Africa doesn't suck?