A Post-Colonial Reconstruction of Africa
Abstract
A Post-Colonial Reconstruction of Africa surveys the significant reconstruction work undertaken in the social and political organization of sub-Saharan African society in the decades following the colonial interruption and subjects these efforts to rigorous criticism in order to establish whether they can carry the weight of modernization efforts in Africa. To examine the significant trends, it highlights the work of African intellectuals such as Kwasi Wiredu, Kwame Gyekye, Paulin Hountondji, Kwame Nkrumah, Anthony Appiah, Ato Sekyi-Otu, and Bernard Matolino. Pieter H. Coetzee argues that reconstruction inspired by traditional communitarian systems of social organization, including the modified form presented by Matolino, do not adequately do justice to the liberty aspirations of individuals in an era when the demand for increased democratization has become globally paramount. Reconstruction efforts inspired by appeal to native traditions of liberalism, including native conceptions of individual rights, fare better in this regard. However, current reconstruction efforts have done little to rescue Africans from the negative economic effects of colonialism and neo-colonialism and fail to alleviate self-perception problems created by Western racism. Appiah’s cosmopolitan option and Sekyi-Otu’s left universalism are notable exceptions.
Schlagworte
African American studies African decolonization African economics African philosophy African politics African rights African studies Africana philosophy Africana studies Anthony Appiah Ato Sekyi-Otu Bernard Matolino European colonialism Kwame Gyekye Kwame Nkrumah Kwasi Wiredu Marxism Paul Houtondji Race & Ethnic studies South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Western colonialism Western racism colonialism communitarianism cosmopolitanism critical universalism diaspora left-universalism modernization native universals neo-colonialism philosophy of race reconstruction restitution- i–xviii Preface i–xviii
- 17–34 Kwasi Wiredu 17–34
- 35–56 Kwame Gyekye 35–56
- 115–136 Kwame Anthony Appiah 115–136
- 199–208 Bibliography 199–208
- 209–222 Index 209–222
- 223–224 About the Author 223–224