During Ahmadou Ahidjo's Presidency In 1965, Cameroon changed its economic philosophy from
African socialism under the guidance of its first president,
Ahmadou Ahidjo. Under planned liberalism, the state began regulating and managing natural resources and guiding foreign investment into specific economic sectors or geographic areas. In the process, the government has partnered with foreign firms to set up various
parastatal enterprises (They can be considered as government-affiliated entities designed to meet commercial and
state capitalist objectives). Meanwhile, it has encouraged private enterprise, investment, and the operation of
market forces.
Capitalism had led to economic development worldwide, but also to a growing gap between rich and poor.
Socialism attempted to tackle economic inequality through a
planned economy, but this model did not lead to a direct improvement in the citizens' lot. Liberal planning, according to
Ahidjo, led to direct prosperity.
Ahidjo said that "there was no longer an absolute gap between the two formulas" (i.e.,
Marxist socialism and
Western capitalism),
Ahmadou Ahidjo himself was a
anti-communist. Cameroonians were encouraged to start their own (modern) companies so that a
private sector would emerge, and the country opened its doors to
foreign investors who were encouraged to invest their money in mixed companies (half private, half government ownership). However, when the economy declined in the 1970s and 1980s, the government decided to
privatize the mixed companies. The intention was for the former state share to end up in the hands of Cameroonians (
economic nationalism). It is a strongly interventionist and has a nationalist doctrine. An important political aspect of liberal planning was that Western investment increased while the non-aligned foreign policy could be continued. Full identification with the West was thus not possible. Because liberal planning was primarily seen as an economic model rather than a political one, the
Ahidjo government did not consider it necessary to democratize the
Republic of Cameroon. Abel Eyinga traces the theory of liberal planning to
Gaullist economic doctrine and sees liberal planning as "the African equivalent of 'participation'." However, adapting the traditional economy to the modern pace of development that the president seeks cannot be achieved by the State alone, given its financial means. It will therefore be done in line with a "planned liberalism", that is, by refusing the anarchic surge of uncontrolled initiatives, while also seeking to direct and contain the pressure of creative activity. To achieve this, the government will turn to the private sector, which it considers the most dynamic agent of development. The major options are presented within a flexible, adaptable framework that outlines paths to desirable economic balances. Kamé Samuel a main "ideologue" of
Ahmadou Ahidjo, did not hesitating to quote
Hitler and
Goebbels or to refer enthusiastically to the "Nazi Youth" and to the "UNR organizations during the military coup in Algiers". The French ambassador to Cameroon, Jean-Pierre Bénard, in a report addressed to his hierarchy, recognizes that "Mr. Kamé does not hide his preferences for a
fascist-style policy". This is also the opinion of Paul Audat, a colonial administrator who was close to Kamé "He is a student who became a
fascist. A single-party
fascist, a supporter of the absolute power of the head of state, who was always very virulent against the UPC." If Kamé Samuel influenced planned liberalism is not known. and ill-advised government backing of certain foreign investors. These faults became evident during the
economic crisis of the mid-1980s. Cameroon, under
Paul Biya, has increasingly turned to the
privatization of state-owned industries to stimulate its economy.
During Paul Biya's Presidency Paul Biya the second and current
President created a similar ideology with the name
Communitarian liberalism, the difference between planned liberalism and communitarian liberalism is that communitarian liberalism is more supportive of
privatization, While the
National Union for Democracy and Progress embraces
economic liberalism and
anti-socialism they also advocate for planned liberalism. ==Other countries==