AFRICAN COMMUNALISM IN AFRICAN SOCIETIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Abstract

Communalism has been claimed as a way of life that characterizes African social existence. This way of life emphasizes the interdependence of the members of a community. The claim and the pursuit for the definition of this concept have been affected by the context of its origination. And while the claim to its peculiarity and exclusiveness has been significantly refuted, the postulation of its centrality in the definition of Africanness has been sustained. The arguments for its contributions to the upliftment and/or obstruction to African development dot the literature of contemporary African Philosophy. This paper acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of communalism as argued by various scholars and examines the challenges that confront communalist theory and practice in the light of the changes in human social existence occasioned by the advances in technology, communications, mobility and urbanization in the 21st century global village.