Emperor Haile Selassie's reign in Ethiopia

Emperor Haile Selassie's reign in Ethiopia can be described by the term Kleptocracy as the Emperor and his cronies plundered the country for their own benefit. Ethiopia was a poor country in any case, and it was poorer on the whole once Selassie had taken most of its wealth to be his own and left the peasants much worse off then they were when he arrived in office. In the book The Emperor, journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski shows ways in which the wealth was transferred from the poor to the leadership and the ways in which the Emperor and his friends spent what wealth the country did produce.

Kapuscinski often merely shows the results without discussing the process underlying it. For instance, he presents a scene early in his book which shows the huge difference that existed between the lifestyle of the Emperor and that of the common people. The scene is a reception for the meeting of the presidents, and the police first chase the poor people out of the streets and decorate the city. The guests arrive to great fanfare and opulence and are treated to a feast: "Mountains of meat, fruit, fish, and cheese rose on the tables. Many-layered cakes dripped with sweet, colored icing. Distinguished wines spread reflected colors and invigorating aromas" (19-20). Outside this party was a very different scene as those whose work and money actually paid for this feast are found: "In the thick night, a crowd of barefoot beggars stood huddled together. The dishwashers working in the bu

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