Seun Kuti and Bro. Diallo Critique Capitalism on ‘Bird’s Eye View’

A latent criticism of capitalism has been integral to the first few episodes of OkayAfrica’s Bird’s Eye View, with hosts Seun Kuti and Diallo “Bro. Diallo” Kenyatta linking previous topics to the imbalance capitalism innately engenders. In the new, fourth episode, they explicitly dive into their gripes with capitalism, poking holes into the widely accepted economic system that runs the lives of billions all over the world.

As usual, the show starts with their trademark religious-parody skit, making fun of the fruits of capitalism, from overconsumption to mass homelessness. Seriousness dominates within the opening minutes of the conversation, as Kuti criticizes the irrationality capitalism engenders despite the idea that it’s a rational result of “the rules of the market.” In his usual passionate demeanor, he uses the consumption tied to American capitalism as a touchstone for his argument of how capitalism is pretty much unsustainable.

“It’s easier for us to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism,” Bro. Diallo says, referencing a quote by American political theorist Frederick Jameson. They cite the ongoing attempts to “colonize the stars” and other planets, an expansionist frontier driven by capitalism, rather than making the earth habitable for everyone. They also touch on the political cards played by wealthier, powerful countries, from carbon emission practices to nuclear apartheid, with Kuti stating that “Trump is the Oprah of tariffs.”

In this week’s episode of “All Praises Due,” Bro. Diallo gives a short but enlightening rundown of the life of the Trinidad-born pan-African revolutionary Kwame Ture (fka Stokley Carmichael). Bro. Diallo shares Ture’s evolution from being a stalwart of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to his ethos of Black Power and the formation of the socialist All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP). Ture left the U.S. and moved to Ghana, toured Africa, and eventually established his home in Guinea.

Ture was critical of power structures that fostered imbalance, emphasizing on the communal aspect of Black Power while amassing political and economic power. He was also critical of the African political elite until he died in 1998.

In connection with the episode’s topic, Bro. Diallo shared one of Ture’s quotes: “Racism is not a question of attitude; it’s a question of power. Racism gets his power from capitalism. Thus, if you’re anti-racist, whether you know it or not, you must be anti-capitalist.”

The show’s second half applies the critiques of capitalism to African society, citing the history of Liberia, where Black immigrants from America created an imbalanced society that subjugated the natives of the land economically and socially. They also discuss the inherent anarchy of capitalism on the continent, where resource-rich regions are some of the poorest due to wanton extraction and exploitation.

As a distillation of their gripes with capitalism, Bro. Diallo cites the famous political scientist Michael Parenti’s quote: “Most of the world is capitalist and most of the world is impoverished.”

Watch episode 4 of Bird’s Eye View here.