Abstract
Following the independence movements starting with Libya in 1951 and ending with Zimbabwe in 1980 the African continent saw a growth in African nationalism. These movements, and the governments associated with them often found themselves divided between state capitalist, scientific socialist, populist, and African socialist regimes. This chapter focuses on the philosophical foundations and politics of three African socialist movements in Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, Julius K. Nyerere and Samora Machel. The chapter assesses the philosophical foundations underpinning their systems of thought and the similarities with the Kantian ideals of internal and external self-law giving. The analysis goes beyond the merely theoretical and also engages with a number of key policies presented by these regimes, particularly the villagisation projects of Nyerere and Machel.
Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. (Marx & Engels, 1992, p. 39)
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Bird, G.K. (2019). African Socialism. In: Foundations of Just Cross-Cultural Dialogue in Kant and African Political Thought. International Political Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97943-4_5
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