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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | In Lieu of Orthodoxy: The Socialist Theories of Nkrumah and Nyerere |
Author: | Metz, Steven |
Year: | 1982 |
Periodical: | Journal of Modern African Studies |
Volume: | 20 |
Issue: | 3 |
Period: | September |
Pages: | 377-392 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Ghana Tanzania |
Subjects: | socialism ujamaa Politics and Government |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/160523 |
Abstract: | It is imperative to understand African socialism both as an outcome of a specific matrix of historical conditions, and as at least a distant descendant of Marxism. Three major tenets of the intellectual context of African socialism are most important for a full understanding of the phenomenon: 1) the ethics of pre-colonial Africa, 2) the colonial past, and 3) the present. Nkrumah and Nyerere attempted both to explain the need for a socialist transition and to lead this process. To truly understand the programmes by which Nkrumah and Nyerere attempted to implement socialism, it is first necessary to examine the theoretical logic which imparted coherence to their strategies; in order to understand socialism as it is, or was, in Ghana and Tanzania, it is first necessary to isolate, analyse, and dissect the theories which motivated these two leaders. Since the implementation of the policies of Nkrumah and Nyerere have been well recorded, this article focuses on the theory underlying their politics. Sections: The concept of society: differing foci - The transition to socialism: revolution versus reform - The concept of socialism: differing definitions - Conclusion: differing logics. Notes. |