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A Perfect Village, a Perfect State?
| Article
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17683 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1990 |
3,913 Words |
| Author
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Joseph O. Vogel and Jean E. Vogel
Joseph O. Vogel is professor of anthropology at the University
of Alabama; from 1965 to 1975 he was Keeper of Prehistory of
the National Museums of Zambia. Jean E. Vogel is a free-lance
author, painter, and commercial artist. During their ten-year
residence in central Africa, the Vogels traveled widely to
conduct archaeological and ethnological research. Their
article "Kuomboka: The Ritual Voyage of the Lozi Paramount"
appeared in the March 1989 issue of THE WORLD & I. |
History is not made in a day, nor are the events of the present easily disassociated from actions embedded in the past. Cultural traditions cast long shadows. All people have some culturally derived sense of who they are and use it to justify events. Tradition is an artifact of the human experience: It is, equal part, the product of memory and the result of a desire to find in the past a rationalization for the way things are, or an inspiration for the way things should be. And the call upon an idealized past is sometimes the only course that people have to resolve present conflict.
The Africa we know today is the product of many diverse forces and cultures. The continent has borne witness to indigenous ideas of political structures, the imposition of an alien ruling elite, and a reconstruction of locally controlled politics constrained by European-derived constitutions. Out of this cauldron of competing ideas and tensions have evolved several kinds of government, each with an appearance of systems conveniently called democratic or socialist, but also with an underlying presence of modes of African governance adapting to the problems of shaping a modern state.
The colonial period shaped the geography and character of present-day Africa. Its parliaments and presidents reflect European constitutions and political traditions. But, when we listen to the speeches of African leaders or view their actions, we can perceive echoes of other ideas for organizing society, of political traditions deeply embedded in the African past that we will identify here in the themes of Zambian humanism.
Kenneth Kaunda and the philosophy of Zambian Humanism
"The principle of recognizing man as the center of all activities stems from a critical study of a good Zambian village." Thus Kenneth Kaunda, president of Zambia, laid out the philosophical foundation on which he felt the state of Zambia should be based. He called it Zambian humanism.
Both capitalism and communism, Kaunda argued, were too system-oriented: They either put "money before men" or the system before the interests of individuals. But in a perfect model of the traditional Zambian village, the individual is of primary importance. He has a place in society that satisfies him and grants a feeling of worth. He knows that this society is prepared to care for him when he needs it, and, as a result, he has feelings of social responsibility toward others. Life in the perfect village balances social
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