Values Kenya must sow to get rid of graft

For many Kenyans who studied in the US and had to work at the same time, there was no job that was ever too low or too menial to do.

Like my contemporaries, I remember doing everything from washing dishes, stocking shelves in a liquor store to hawking bibles from door to door. Although the conflicting emotions and stress one went through faded with time, these were invaluable character building experiences that provided a front row view of American society.

AMERICAN VALUES

One of the reasons these experiences were precious is that, apart from the fact that they paid for upkeep and education, these odd jobs provided insights into American values. An example of one of these memorable lessons took place in my workplace when a little girl accompanied by her mother came to buy some candy. When it came to payment, the mother insisted that the little girl had to use her own money which at that time struck me as quite mean. On looking around the shop, however, I noticed all the other women in the queue were watching the unfolding drama with smiles and nods of approval at the woman’s firmness. As the little girl retrieved the requisite change from her purse, everyone broke into jubilation as if she had come through an important rite of passage.

Although I left the US some 30 years ago, this most mundane incident has stuck to my mind because it was a first-hand insight into how values are inculcated in American children. Not only did it help to illustrate how children are instilled with capitalist values, it also explained why my classmates acted as if accepting free things made them look like charity cases. In fact, the students were so jealous of their independence that when dining out as a group, one of them would carry a calculator to confirm the bill and allocate everyone’s expenditure to the last cent. Attempts at overpayment would be politely rebuffed.

I came to realise that among Americans, someone’s ability to meet their obligations is a measure of self-worth and pride.

FALSE PROPHETS

Turning to Kenya, the question that begs for answers is what moral standard underpins our capitalism? Looking at the shameless and pervasive state of corruption in Kenya, one can only infer that we adopted a capitalist economy without the ethics that drive it.

The strength of our capitalist values can be likened to a people who profess the Christian faith but are clueless about teachings in the New Testament. It is unsurprising that when a youth study was conducted in 2016, many respondents stated that they admire people of means but do not care how the wealth was acquired!

With corruption getting out of hand, Kenyans have logically looked to religion to save the day. This has however disappointed because Kenya’s traditional pastor is a bible-thumping, verse-quoting preacher whose main preoccupation is saving souls for the heavenly kingdom. Lately this traditional pastor has been joined by a plethora of prosperity televangelists and false prophets whose greed for material things has become a source of disillusionment for the faithful.

Accordingly, our Christian and capitalist ethics will continue to run parallel to each other. This is not the way to build a thriving economy and as John Maynard Keynes observed, in the long run, we are all dead.

The author is a political and economic analyst; [email protected]