CAN UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY INAUGURATE AND SUSTAIN MODERN DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA?

Abstract

Most articulations of African philosophy border on the presumption that like Europe, Africa has a common denominator worldview. This is often depicted as communitarianism or communalism. A recent popularization of the concept/philosophy of Ubuntu of Southern African origin signaled another attempt at finding a common denominator for Africans’ expression of themselves as a worldview, an ethic and a philosophy. This sentiment is in some cases driven by the belief that the African predicament is a consequence of a western-values-driven-corrosion. This implies that, were Africa to retake its stride, she must go back to her roots. This is generally termed African renaissance and has given rise to African socio-political thoughts, in some cases also referred to as African Narratives of Return. In most cases these African narratives of return are unanimous in affirming what is now understood as African communitarianism or communalism as a common feature of Africans. The Ubuntu philosophy is chosen here merely because it is generally agreed to represent a well-articulated and very popular rendition of the so-called African communitarianism. Besides being a philosophy that originated in Africa, Ubuntu has since gone beyond the continent and dovetailed into many aspects of life. This essay is a critical examination of Ubuntu as a rendition of African communalism and/or communitarianism, and as an instance of a narrative of return, with the principal question of whether these narratives can inaugurate and sustain any attempt at African development. This essay’s answer to the lead question is NO.