alt=This map shows the 35 countries that adopted some form of socialism on the African continent from the 1950s to the 1980s using modern boundaries.|thumb|This map shows the 35 countries that adopted some form of socialism on the African continent from the 1950s to the 1980s.

African socialism is a distinct variant of socialist theory developed in post-colonial Africa during the mid-20th century. As a shared ideology among several African thinkers over the decades, it encompasses a variety of competing interpretations. However, a consistent and defining theme among these theories is the notion that traditional African cultures and community structures have a natural inclination toward socialist principles.

This characterization of socialism as an indigenous African tradition sets African socialism apart as a unique ideological movement, distinctly separate from other socialist movements on the continent or elsewhere in the world. Prominent contributors to this field include Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal.

Origins and themes

As many African countries gained independence during the 1960s, some of these newly formed governments rejected the ideas of capitalism in favour of a more afrocentric economic model. Leaders of this period professed that they were practising "African socialism".

Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Léopold Senghor of Senegal, Joseph Saidu Momoh and Siaka Stevens in Sierra Leone, Kwame Nkrumah and Hilla Limann of Ghana, François Tombalbaye in Chad, Modibo Keïta in Mali, Sékou Touré of Guinea, and Luís Cabral in Guinea-Bissau were the main architects of African Socialism, according to William H. Friedland and Carl G. Rosberg Jr., editors of the book African Socialism.

Common principles of various versions of African socialism were social development guided by a large public sector, an emphasis on an African identity and what it means to be African, and the preservation or revival of a classless society. Senghor claimed that "Africa’s social background of tribal community life not only makes socialism natural to Africa but excludes the validity of the theory of class struggle," thus making African socialism, in all of its variations, different from Marxism and European socialist theory.

African socialism became an important model of economic development for countries such as Ghana, Guinea, Senegal and Tanzania. While these countries used different models of African Socialism, many commonalities emerged, such as the desire for political and economic autonomy, self reliance, the Africanisation of business and civil service, Pan-Africanism and non-alignment. Several African countries adopted socialist systems from the 1950s to mid-1980s (~35 out of ~50-53 countries at the time). Rather than focusing on class struggle, Nyerere imagined the goal of socialism in Tanzania (and Africa generally) to be the restoration of the pre-colonial family unit. As members of a larger familial network, individuals were expected to support each other and share work, lessons that Nyerere believed laid the groundwork for a socialist education. Ujamaa was not meant to replace a failing capitalist system, like socialism was seen in Marxist theory, but to deconstruct the artificial power structures imposed by colonial rule and return to a naturally socialist order.

The ideal society, according to Nyerere, would be built around the core principles of “freedom, equality, and unity”; together, these tenets would create an economy based on cooperative production, foster peaceful community bonds, and encourage democratic political participation. These farming villages were to serve as the heart of that development, building Tanzania’s economy while also freeing its culture from the capitalist value and power structure imposed under colonial rule. The theoretical link that Ujamaa created between economic development and social liberation has been praised for being ahead of its time, anticipating a framework that would not become mainstream in Western sociology until the late 20th century.

The general international consensus on the Ujamaa policy regime is that it failed to live up to its goals. Most of the communities created under the Ujamaa program were unable to become self-sufficient in the way Nyerere had imagined. The accelerated timeline on which the reforms were executed and bureaucratic inefficiencies gave way to disappointing economic results. The forced collectivization of farmland that had once been family-owned was a sore point for many farmers, who bristled at the radical cultural and lifestyle changes they were expected to embrace; meanwhile, in cities, the state's focus on agricultural production had inhibited its ability to address socioeconomic class division in urban environments.

Nyerere’s government has also garnered criticism for the manner in which Ujamaa was implemented. At the outset of the program, Ujamaa was to be a voluntary, decentralized effort, leaving a certain degree of autonomy to the individual villages. Over time, however, the state assumed a degree of control over village management and production that some historians have labeled coercive and autocratic, claiming this contradicted the democratic values Ujamaa espoused.

The failure of Ujamaa to deliver on its promises of development and equality led to a wave of intense backlash in the late 1970s-80s. Posthumously, Nyerere and Ujamaa have seen a resurgence in popularity in Tanzania.

Ubuntu

The ancient Ubuntu philosophy of South Africa recognizes the humanity of a person through their interpersonal relationships. The word comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. Ubuntu believes in a bond that ties together all of humanity and the fact that a human being is of a high value. According to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, A man with ubuntu is open and accessible to others, confirming of others, doesn't feel debilitated that others are capable and great, for he or she has a legitimate confidence that originates from realizing that he or she has a place in a more noteworthy entire and is decreased when others are mortified or reduced, when others are tormented or abused. It was taken as an opportunity for local Kenyans to self-develop their communities without waiting on government. This helped build a sense of togetherness in the Kenyan community but analysts state that it has brought about class discrepancies because some individuals use this as an opportunity to generate wealth.

Kwame Nkrumah and Nkrumahism

Nkrumahism was the political philosophy of Ghana's first post-independence president Kwame Nkrumah. As one of the first African political leaders, Nkrumah became a major figure in the left-wing pan-African movement. In his piece A declaration to the colonial peoples, Nkrumah called on Africans to "...affirm the right of all colonial peoples to control their own destiny." and that "All colonies must be free from foreign imperialist control, whether political or economic.". His focus on economic and political freedom would prove to be a fundamental part of his overarching political philosophy, combining the nationalist independence movement in his home country of Ghana along with left-wing economic thought.

A major figure in the Ghanaian independence movement, Nkrumah came to power shortly after Ghana gained its independence in 1957. Once in power, he began a series of infrastructural and economic development plans designed to stimulate the Ghanaian economy. $16 million was designated to be used to build a new town in Tema to be used as an open seaport for Accra and the eastern region of the country. The government designed a new plan to tackle issues surrounding illiteracy and lack of access to education, with thousands of new schools being built in rural areas.

thumb|Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana

Determined to industrialize the country rapidly, Nkrumah set out to modernize Ghana's economy in order to better compete with the West. In turn, his government embarked on a strategy of slowly increasing the amount of government-controlled firms in the country while simultaneously putting restrictions on privately owned companies operating in Ghana. By 1965, the state-controlled 50% of the insurance industry within the country, 60% of all bank deposits were deposited at state-run banks, 17% of the country's sea-bound cargo was handled by state-run firms, 27% of all industrial production was either produced by state-run firms or firms in which the state-controlled a considerable portion and 35% of the country's total imports were handled by the government.

Nkrumah also pushed for Ghana to become an international advocate for the spread of socialism and pan-Africanism throughout the newly independent African states. As the first African colonial state to be granted independence, Ghana became an inspiration to many of the nascent left-wing independence movements throughout the continent. In 1958, Nkrumah helped found the Union of Independent African States, a political union between Ghana, Mali, and Guinea. Though the union was short-lived, the proposed political organization marked the first attempt at regional unity among newly established African republics.

Nkrumah was also instrumental in pushing Ghana towards the major Communist powers, including the USSR and the PRC. In 1961, he made his first official visit to Moscow, receiving an honorary degree from the University of Moscow. In a speech given in Accra in front of a visiting Soviet delegation in 1963, Nkrumah said, "We in Ghana have formally chosen the socialist path and we will build a socialist society... Thus our countries, the Soviet Union and Ghana, will go forward together."

Nkrumah also used the Eastern bloc to expand Ghana's economy by establishing state owned enterprises. In 1962, a Ghanaian newspaper reported that out of the sixty-three foreign agreements signed in 1961, forty-four of the agreements were with East European countries focusing on trade, payments and scientific, technical, and cultural co-operation. There were also five agreements with China and another five with Yugoslavia. Excelling in his primary education, Senghor enrolled in the University of Paris.

After graduating and serving in the French Army during World War II, Senghor began a career as a poet in Paris, releasing his first book, Chants d'ombre (Shadow Songs) in 1945 and Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malagache de langue française (Anthology of the New Black and Malagasy Poetry) in 1948. Both pieces were instrumental in developing the bulk of the emerging Négritude movement, which Senghor hoped would represent the "sum total of the values of the civilization of the African world.".

Senghor was initially not a supporter of an independent Senegal, worrying that the small African country would have little chance as an independent nation. Instead, he advocated for an interconnected relationship similar to that of Paris and France's provinces. In his piece, Vues sure l'Afrique noir, ou s'assimiler non être assimilés (Views on Black Africa, or To Assimilate, Not Be Assimilated), Senghor advocated for popularly elected Senegalese representatives and an executive in Paris, French economic funds to help with Senegalese development, and the inclusion of African cultural and linguistic education in the French educational system.

In 1958, referendums were held in all of the French African colonies on the future of the colonial possessions. The debate was between full on independence and joining the French community, a sort of association of former French colonies that would allow countries like Senegal to become independent, but still maintain an economic and diplomatic relations with the French government. Senghor supported the yes side of the vote and Senegal voted 97% in favor of the association.

When Senegal became a fully independent country in 1960, Senghor was elected to the presidency. After a failed coup led by his Prime Minister in 1962, the Senghor government moved to abolish the post, which was approved by 99% in referendum. The vote substantially strengthened the power of the President, who no longer had to compete with the Prime Minister for executive power.

The Socialist Party compounded its control of Senegalese politics in 1966 when it was declared the country's only legal party, with Senghor as its leader. The one-party system would stay in place until Senghor decided to liberalize the country's election laws by allowing for a 3 party system, with one socialist, one liberal, and one communist party being allowed to contest elections.

As president, Senghor represented a moderated version of African Socialism that didn't align with the more radical interpretations seen in other newly independent African states. Unlike other ex-colonies, Senegal remained closely aligned with the French government. They retained the French Franc as the national currency and Senghor was known to consult the French government before making any major foreign policy decisions. He allowed French advisors and companies to remain in Senegal, including in government and educational posts. When asked about nationalizing French companies, Senghor responded that it would be to "kill the goose that laid the golden egg". He also sought to give more power to the underdeveloped Senegalese countryside which he did by instituting price protections on peanut crops and allowing for rural representation when making decisions on agricultural policy. Accrued resources were then disproportionately controlled by household heads, under the assumption that subordinate women did not have to do as much work. Groups of working women began receiving their own plots of land from community leaders, and their contributions became recognized under the rural basis of Ghanaian socialism. Despite efforts of development policy to purge Tanzanian government of European influence, the reinforcement of the nuclear family and assignment of women to the role of domestic house-maker reflected the practice of Christian colonizers before them. Regardless, the slow but sure subversion of women's rights movements in Tanzania saw women pushed further back into households, and female governmental leaders deposed for a number of trivial offenses. Symbolic representation via educated “femmes phares”, or beacon women, was introduced with the one party system, and a set of quotas for women's political participation in the 1980s. Still, both concessions were more a result of male political competition than progressive movements for women's rights. Even those women who were granted public office enjoyed little influence compared to male colleagues of similar position. Nonetheless, developments were made with the unity of eastern feminist groups, but discourse with their western counterparts. With socialism and anti-colonialism at the forefront of African feminist issues, the question of how male leaders would make economic development benefit all members of a household was paramount, but one that was not taken seriously in conferences. Leading Soviet Africanist, Professor Ivan Potekhin argued that African Socialism could not exist because there could be no varieties of true Marxist–Leninist socialism. There was not one monolith perspective on whether socialism existed in Africa. It was commonly believed that Africa could have its unique road to socialism but not its own form.

Soviet African Specialists recognized countries such as Guinea, Mali, and Ghana as closer to true Marxist–Leninist socialism. Ahmed Sékou Touré (1961), Modibo Keïta (1963) and Kwame Nkrumah (1962) were honored with Lenin Peace Prizes. Countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire were considered ‘reactionary’ and prone to collaboration with the imperialist powers. According to them, African society was a classless society, characterized by a communal spirit and democracy on the basis of government through discussion and consensus. The main objective was to unite African people in this idealized image of the traditional pre-colonial society.

Soviet Africanists did not agree that African society had a traditional classless society.

See also

  • Third Worldism
  • Pan-Africanism
  • Anarchism in Africa
  • Socialism with Chinese characteristics
  • Arab socialism
  • Melanesian socialism
  • Ubuntu
  • Uhuru Movement
  • Ujamaa
  • Harambee
  • Third International Theory
  • Sankarism

Notes

References

  • Bismarck U. Mwansasu and Cranford Pratt, Towards Socialism in Tanzania, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1979.
  • Fenner Brockway, African Socialism, The Bodley Head, London, 1963.
  • Ghita Jonescu and Ernest Gellner, Populism, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1969.
  • Ngau, P. M. (1987). Tensions in Empowerment: The Experience of the “Harambee” (Self-Help) Movement in Kenya. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 35(3), 523–538.
  • Ng’ethe, N. (1983). POLITICS, IDEOLOGY AND THE UNDERPRIVILEGED: THE ORIGINS AND NATURE OF THE HARAMBEE PHENOMENON IN KENYA. Journal of Eastern African Research & Development, 13, 150–170.
  • Paolo Andreocci, Democrazia, partito unico e populismo nel pensiero politico africano, in Africa, Rome, n. 2–3, 1969.
  • Peter Worsley, The Third World, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1964.
  • William H. Crawford and Carl G. Rosberg Jr., African Socialism, Stanford University press, California, 1964.
  • Ngau, P. M. (1987). Tensions in Empowerment: The Experience of the “Harambee” (Self-Help) Movement in Kenya. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 35(3), 523–538.
  • Ng’ethe, N. (1983). POLITICS, IDEOLOGY AND THE UNDERPRIVILEGED: THE ORIGINS AND NATURE OF THE HARAMBEE PHENOMENON IN KENYA. Journal of Eastern African Research & Development, 13, 150–170.
  • Smith, J. H. (1992). [Review of Review of The Harambee Movement in Kenya: Self-Help, Development and Education among the Kamba of Kitui District, by M. J. D. Hill]. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 30(4), 701–703.
  • Yves Bénot, Idélogies des Indepéndances africaines, F. Maspero, Paris, 1969.