SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Philosophy

CONTRIBUTORS:

Kelechi, O.E.
Ogugua, Paul

ABSTRACT:

ABSTRACT
Human quest for sustainable development can be traced back to the very onset of human existence. Philosophically the changes that have encompassed the world in the recent past have obviously not left Africa unaffected, including collapse of the Soviet bloc, the cold war, emergence of the uni-polar world, and marginalised role of the UN system and the victory of the neo-liberal economic and political agenda, these have in one way or the other affected communalistic way of life, economy and political structures and policies in Africa. The effect of Globalization on African continent can be seen as one of the major historical factors, which have shaped the life and thinking of Africans, and also disorganized the way of life of Africans in a communal setting, and led to gradual disassociation from the usual collective interest (familyhood). Dialectical method is employed using communalism as the thesis, globalization as the anti-thesis, then the effects which are both positive and negative factor as the synthesis. Dialectics is used critically to investigate African communalism in sheer face of globalization, which led to individualism in Africa. This study reveals that Africans are more of individualistic than communal, but not denying the fact that, there are still traces of communality in some parts of contemporary Africa, due to the long period of time in which communities were nurtured in communalist spirit. The research concludes that, what is been practiced in contemporary Africa as a way of communal living incorporates both traces of individualism and communalism together, and recommends African communalism to be modified to suit the means of production rather than merely a psychological state.