Rawls In The African Predicament: Some Theoretical Considerations

Abstract

The colonial experience in Africa is an epochal phenomenon. This is because the postcolonial conditions became crippling enough to determine the direction that Africa would take. The colonial logic through series of socio-cultural, economic and political “pre-texts” ensured the disruption of the African psyche and societies. One of the ways in which the Africa is coming to term with its disrupted existence is the attempt to recreate a democratic community on demotic principles. The people are essential because they were crucial to the decolonisation process. However, because the colonial structures remained largely uninterrogated by the nationalists, the African state lost its legitimacy and the disenchanted Africans discovered meaningfulness in their ethnic enclaves. How then can African achieve a liberating democratic community? How does liberal democracy, and its arch-advocate Rawls, feature in this attempt at legitimating the postcolonial African state? How meaningful is the idea of an African liberal democracy?

Journal of Philosophy and Culture Vol. 3 (1) 2006: pp. 22-52