How Biden, Macron, and Xi are Modern-Day Jan Smuts

Jan Smuts stands as a complex figure in history—an architect of international human rights and a staunch defender of segregation at home in South Africa. He was Prime Minister of South Africa on two occasions, from 3 September 1919 to 30 June 1924 and 5 September 1939 – 4 June 1948.

His legacy, one of duality and contradiction, is echoed today in the leadership of Western and Eastern powers, whose rhetoric on equal partnerships is undermined by their complicity in Africa's exploitation. In Smuts’ unwillingness to take a clear stand against segregation, we see the seeds of apartheid; similarly, in the actions – or inactions – of leaders like Biden, Macron, and Xi Jinping, we witness the continuation of a global system where African lives are treated as expendable, mere collateral in the pursuit of profit and power.

The Jan Smuts Paradox

Jan Christiaan Smuts was a man of two faces. As a founding figure of South Africa, he played a pivotal role in shaping the post-World War II liberal order, contributing to the formation of the British Commonwealth, the League of Nations, and the United Nations. His influence was vast, and his rhetoric on human rights and self-determination resonated across the globe. Yet, within the borders of his own country, Smuts was an architect of segregation, a man who could not reconcile his belief in freedom abroad with his commitment to suppressing it at home.

Smuts, like many of his time, justified segregation through a pseudo-scientific lens, citing fundamental cultural differences as unbridgeable divides. He was not the most extreme voice among his peers, but his moderate stance was, in many ways, more insidious. By deferring the issue of race equality to the future, by refusing to take a stand, Smuts laid the groundwork for the apartheid regime that would soon follow. His reluctance to confront the “native problem” head-on, his use of violence to suppress dissent, and his unwillingness to engage with African leaders like Alfred Xuma, all contributed to the institutionalization of racial oppression in South Africa.

A New Era of Segregation

Today, the world’s most powerful leaders are guilty of a similar moral failure. Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Xi Jinping, King Charles and others, like Smuts, occupy a no-man’s land –a space where rhetoric on human rights and equality is hollowed out by policies and practices that enable exploitation and oppression. The exploitation of African resources by Western and Eastern multinationals, the extraction of wealth at the expense of local communities, and the indifference to the lives destroyed in the process, can be seen as a modern form of segregation. In this new era, African lives, like those of black South Africans in Smuts’ South Africa, are deemed expendable.

The United States and Exploitation

Under the guise of promoting democracy and human rights, the United States has long engaged in a form of economic imperialism that has ravaged African nations. From the Cold War era, where African leaders who resisted Western control were assassinated or overthrown, to the present day, where multinational corporations strip the continent of its resources, the exploitation has persisted. Joe Biden’s administration, while vocal on issues of human rights, has done little to address the ongoing exploitation of African resources. The presence of American troops in Africa, ostensibly to combat terrorism, often serves to protect corporate interests, maintaining a status quo where African lives and sovereignty are secondary to American geopolitical strategy.

France’s Neo-Colonial Grip

Emmanuel Macron’s France continues to exert a neo-colonial grip on some former African colonies. The CFA franc, a colonial-era currency still in use in many West and Central African countries, is one of the most blatant examples of this control. France’s military interventions, often framed as peacekeeping missions, frequently prioritize the protection of French economic interests, particularly in resource-rich regions. Like Smuts, Macron speaks the language of human rights and self-determination, yet his actions reveal a deep-seated unwillingness to relinquish control over Africa’s wealth, perpetuating a cycle of dependency and exploitation.

China’s Economic Colonialism

Xi Jinping’s China has entered Africa with promises of partnership and development, yet the reality has often been one of debt traps and economic colonialism. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has built infrastructure across the continent, but at a cost. African nations, burdened by debt, are forced to cede control of key assets and resources to Chinese companies. The environmental degradation and social displacement caused by Chinese projects mirror the devastation wrought by Western colonial powers in centuries past. Xi, like Smuts, occupies a rhetorical space where the language of mutual benefit is used to mask the reality of exploitation and control.

The Legacy of Silence

The unwillingness of these modern-day leaders to confront the exploitation of Africa mirrors Smuts’ reluctance to address the racial injustices in his own country. By refusing to take a clear stand, they enable the continuation of systems that devalue African lives and perpetuate inequality. Thomas Sankara and Patrice Lumumba, transformative African leaders, understood that true liberation could not be achieved without confronting both external exploitation and internal complicity. Their assassinations, backed by Western powers, serve as stark reminders of the cost of challenging this global order.

Today, as Africa continues to suffer under the weight of foreign exploitation, the words of Smuts ring hollow. His legacy is not just one of human rights advocacy, but also of the segregation and oppression that his silence enabled. Biden, Macron, Xi and their peers must recognize that their rhetoric on equal partnerships means little if it is not backed by action. To occupy no-man’s land, to refuse to take a stand, is to be complicit in the exploitation and suffering of millions. The question now is whether these leaders will continue to follow in Smuts’ footsteps, or whether they will finally take a stand for true equality and justice.
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