Felwine Sarr's "La fabrique du pr茅sent" encourages African societies to rethink their future
Felwine Sarr's book, "La fabrique du pr茅sent," encourages African societies to rethink their future by exploring the connections between the past, present, and collective action to build a more informed future aligned with their realities. The author suggests that the present is shaped by past actions and that African societies can influence their present by understanding these mechanisms, particularly those outside established norms set by the colonial period and post-independence era. Sarr advocates for a free approach, unburdened by mental biases, using endogenous compasses rooted in humanity and its ecosystem. He emphasizes education as a means to industrialize the desired present, moving beyond its role as a channel for established knowledge. The book also questions traditional African knowledge systems, drawing on narratives from Serer culture and MFDC combatants to illustrate the existence of "operating knowledge" that can influence reality. A key concept is the "economy of dignity," inspired by Guinean intellectual Telivel Diallo, which proposes an economic path centered on human dignity as an alternative to capitalist prosperity and socialist egalitarianism. This concept suggests that dignity should drive society, potentially generating positive externalities for individual and collective well-being, and advocates for "dignity-oriented" budgets over traditional economic indicators like GDP or debt. Sarr also examines the exhaustion of representative democracy, urging
