Western and African Communitarianism Comparison

Western and African Communitarianism Comparison
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Analytical Critique of Western and African Communitarianism
Communitarianism is a social and moral philosophy that rejects individualism and promotes collective rights and the adjustment of individual freedoms in favor of the good of the collective whole (Masolo, 2004; 483). This paper compares Western and African communitarianism, exploring their philosophical origins, Western manifestations, African variations, and implications for each.
Overview
Western communitarianism draws from Hegel's idea of the individual as part of a larger whole, whereby one achieves freedom by embodying a historically creative Mind (Masolo, 483). African communitarianism, in contrast, emerged through nationalist rhetoric and the ambition to create something radically different from colonizers’ political systems. African intellectuals turned to indigenous social and political orders to establish political programs combining African values with anti-capitalist ideology, ranging from secular altruism to Islamic religious values (Masolo, 489). Hence, while Western communitarianism is essentially a critique of liberalism, African communitarianism sought to break away from colonial systems and give communitarianism a prescriptive status.
Philosophical Similarities
Western and African Communitarianism differ in emphasizing collective interest over the individual. Although Western communitarianism emphasizes collective interests by asserting that the rights of individuals are not fundamental and that the collective can have rights independent of what liberals claim are the rights of individuals, African communitarianism expresses the notion of community through a prescriptive status of collective values. For example, African theologians such as Vincent Mulago and François-Marie Lufuluabo believe that African solidarity is based on participating in everyday life. In contrast, prominent African leaders such as Leopold Sédar Senghor, Kwame Nkrumah, and Julius Nyerere assert that community values override the freedoms and rights of the individual (Musolo, 489-491). Moreover, African beliefs about personhood, such as those of the Dogon and Luo of Kenya, also demonstrate how individuals depend on their ancestors for their physical and spiritual existence, emphasizing the importance of collective heritage in African communities (Musolo, 490). Thus, Western and African communitarianism differ in how they emphasize collective interest over the individual's, with African communitarianism relying heavily on a collective heritage and values.
In both Western and African communitarianism, personhood is understood to be a concept connected to the defining capabilities of humans. It is achieved through an educational process that begins at birth and intensifies at each stage of growth and development (Musolo, 491-492). Moral education and inculcating communal values are critical to initiation rituals in African societies. These rituals teach essential virtues, such as obedience and service to others, and help children gain knowledge of their close and distant family. To further underscore these values, ...