A Post-Colonial Reconstruction of Africa [Hardcover]

A Post-Colonial Reconstruction of Africasurveys 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. Appiahs cosmopolitan option and Sekyi-Otus left universalism are notable exceptions.Pieter H. Coetzeeis an independent scholar and retired lecturer in philosophy at the University of South Africa.In this illuminating scholarly text, Coetzee challenges Western, Eurocentric claims to exclusivity in philosophical discourse by drawing on pioneers of African philosophy such as Kwasi Wiredu, Kwame Gyekye, Paulin Hountondji, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Mogobe Ramose, Ato Sekyi-Otu, and Bernard Matolino. Embedded in their African-centered logical and epistemic frameworks are interpretations of what have been identified as African communitarianism (traditional, moderate, and otherwise) and variations of liberal cosmopolital“*