AFRICAN

NATIONALISM
Unit 6: Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
■ What is an “ideology”?
– An ideology is a set of opinions or beliefs of an individual or a group.
– Very often ideology refers to a set of political beliefs or a set of ideas that
characterize a particular culture. Capitalism, communism, socialism, and Marxism
are examples of different ideologies.
– Ideology refers to a set of ideals and ideas, especially one which forms the basis of
a political and/or economic system.
– Ideology are the pillars on which you construct your nation, country, economy,
society, political system, world-view, etc.
■ Ideology was at the heart of the rise and growth of African nationalism and the eventual
decolonization of Africa.
■ Ideology, together with other factors, drives a movement.
■ In post-colonial Africa, various different ideologies were used/implemented by newly
independent governments. Let’s look at a few notable examples.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa

1. Communism
■ Communism is a major historical theme since the Bolshevik Revolution of Russia in
1917.
■ Communism has its roots in the effects of the Industrial Revolution, where certain
individuals (owners) grew to be very rich by ‘exploiting’ their workers.
– The growing gap between ‘rich owners’ and the ‘exploited poor’ created the
foundation and basic premise on which communism, as an ideology, was built.
■ Communism was popularized by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels in their “Communist Manifesto”, published in 1848.
■ “Communism” originates from the Latin word “Communis”, meaning “common” or
“belonging to all”.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
1. Communism
■ The ideal of the communist system is a free society, without division or alignment, and a society
where people are free from oppression and scarcity display.
■ Communism seeks to abolish private property:
– Note the difference between ‘private property’ (e.g. a farm) and ‘personal belongings’ (e.g. a
toothbrush, bicycle, etc.)
■ In a communist country, the state owns and manages the means of production:
– Land, capital, factories, minerals, water, etc. (anything used to drive economic production)
■ Thus, according to communist theory, all goods are shared equally by all people (but managed by
the state).
■ All economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state.
■ The communist ideal states that people will work in communist society, not because they feel an
obligation, but because they see it as their social responsibility.
■ Communism has the total elimination of social classes as a goal:
– No ‘upper class, middle class and working class’
– Everyone is regarded as equal
– Strive towards a class-less society
■ Each person contributes to society according to their ability, and receives according to their needs.
This, theoretically, eliminates unfair gaps in income.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa

1. Communism
■ Communism was adopted by many Africans in the 1930s because,
as an ideology, it was sympathetic to the needs and desires of the
poor working class, rather than the rich colonial powers.
■ It was regarded as a scheme of equalizing the social conditions of
life in colonial Africa.
■ It is a ideology which abolishes inequalities in the possession of
property, by distributing the wealth equally for the equal use and
advantage of all.
– “From each according to his ability. To each according to his
needs.”
■ Is communism practical or utopian? Why?
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa

■ Some examples of African countries to

adopt communism after gaining
independence:
– Angola, 1975 – 1992
– Benin, 1975 – 1990
– Ethiopia, 1974 – 1991
– Mozambique, 1975 – 1990
– Somalia, 1969 – 1991
– Congo-Brazzaville, 1970 – 1992
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
2. Socialism
■ Economic and political theory advocating:
– public or common ownership of the means of production
– cooperative management of the means of production and in the allocation of
resources.
■ Common ownership and democratic control is central to the meaning of socialism.
■ In some sense socialism is very similar to communism, but it is less ‘extreme’ and more
flexible.
■ A socialist society is organized on the basis of:
– Relatively equal power-relations
– Self-management
– Dispersed/non-centralized decision-making
■ In some cases, certain socialist countries were/are open to implementing aspects of a
capitalist economy, i.e. Tanzania, Sri Lanka
■ In a socialist society, everybody has free access to goods and services designed to
directly meet their needs.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
■ A good way to better understand socialism, is to compare some of its aspects directly to
communism.
■ Key differences between communism and socialism:
– Socialism is an economic system which has the main objective of allocating
resources to people according to their work/input.
– Communism is an economic and political system focused on allocating resources
to people according to their needs.

– Socialism is, depending on implementation, not totally averse to ideas of capitalism

(i.e. private property).
– One of the cornerstones of the communist ideology is the elimination of private
property.

– In socialism, the whole society is involved in decision-making and management of

the means of production. Thus, democratic in nature.
– In communism, decision-making and the management of the means of production
rests with a select group of people representing the state. It is thus not democratic
in nature, as decision-making rests with only a selected few.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa

3. African Socialism
■ African Socialism is, as the name alludes, based on socialism, but with a distinct
African dimension to it. Thus, the basic principles of this ideology comes from
‘classic’ socialism, but it is applied in a distinct African manner within a distinct
African context.
■ African Socialism is a belief that economic resources must be shared in a traditional
African way, as distinct from ‘classic’ socialism.
■ African Socialism also refers to African thought processes and cosmological ideas
(Who are we? Why are we here?, What is the meaning of life? etc.), which regards a
human being not as a social means, but as an entity in society.
■ Julius Nyerere of Tanzania introduced the term “Ujamaa”:
– Swahili word for “extended family” or “family-hood”
– A person becomes a person through the people of community.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
■ African Socialism promotes a traditionally African way of life within a socialist
economy.
■ Some notable principles of African Socialism:
– Social development is prioritized, and guided by a large public sector
– Incorporating the African identity, and what it means to be African, into the way
in which the country is organized and run.
– It is against the idea of the development of social classes
■ Why did some newly independent African states decide to adopt African Socialism
as their leading ideology, and not communism?
– Leopold Senghor (Senegal) answers this question best.
– “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, he said that Africa’s history of traditional community life, which is
socialist in nature, makes socialism (or African socialism, for that matter)
natural. Also, as there were no strictly-defined social classes in the traditional
African community, the ‘class-struggle’, and thus communism, is not
necessarily applicable to Africans.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
4. Dictatorship
■ It is a form of government in which one person possesses
absolute power without effective constitutional checks.
■ Characteristics of dictatorships:
– Modern dictators usually use force and/or fraud to
gain and maintain power.
– Dictators use intimidation, terror and suppression of
civil liberties.
– Control of the mass media.
– Propaganda, and very often violence, too, is used to
suppress opposition.
– In post-colonial Africa and Asia, dictators had often
retained power by establishing one-party rule after a
military takeover.
– In extreme cases, human rights abuses, genocide,
looting, and even cannibalism, takes place.
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa
4. Dictatorship
■ Examples:
– Idi Amin (Uganda) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyaTWKv44Hs
– Mobuto Sese Seko (Democratic Republic of Congo)
– Omar Al-Bashir (Sudan)
– Muammar Ghaddafi (Libya)
– Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)
Ideologies in Post-Colonial Africa

■ What is Communism?
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qElx_EyTTKA
■ What is Socialism?
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBYmeLBWjeI
■ What is African Socialism?
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXjL-HHn_a8
■ What is a Dictatorship?
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-emDpQlFWI
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKE52hmJy2M&feature=iv&src_vid=R-
emDpQlFWI&annotation_id=annotation_453659963
Suggested reading

■ Reading 20 – Ujamaa, The Basis of African Socialism, 1962

■ Reading 21 – African Socialism, A Critique
■ Reading 22 – African Socialism
■ Reading 23 – Varieties of African Socialism
■ Reading 24 – Dictatorships in Africa
■ Reading 25 – Introduction to Communism
■ Reading 26 – Introduction to Socialism