This contribution is published as part of the UNRISD Think Piece Series, The Time is Now! Why We Need a New Eco-Social Contract for a Just and Green World. We invite experts from academia, advocacy and policy practice to critically explore the various manifestations of our broken social contracts, the root causes of breakdown and the role of rising inequalities, as well as the drivers of positive change. We ask not only which policies and institutional reforms are needed, but also which actors can do what to overcome inequalities and build greater social and climate justice. The series is part of the Global Research and Action Network for a New Eco-Social Contract.
To envision new eco-social contracts, we must look beyond Western models that reproduce power structures and exclude certain groups, and rather find inspiration in communitarian visions underpinning eco-social contracts globally. This think piece provides a discussion of African communitarianism as an alternative vision for social contracts and how it might provide a fresh viewpoint.
African communitarianism can be summed up as a worldview that posits that people are primarily defined by their relationship to and role in their communities. This perspective stands in stark opposition to modern social contracts, which centre around the individual rather than the community. Such social contracts have proved inadequate to cope with the present crises we face and have long excluded vulnerable and marginalized groups. Rising levels of within-country inequality, rapidly worsening climate crisis that disproportionately impacts vulnerable groups, and social and economic upheavals prevalent in many societies today are all both drivers and consequences of our broken social contracts. Multilateral agreements like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have attempted to address some of these challenges, but they too have been largely inadequate. Not surprisingly, there is an increasing call for a new social contract that equally incorporates all stakeholders. Interrogating perspectives from various segments of society and drawing on traditional knowledge sources across different cultures can help to bring about more equitable and sustainable social contracts that are inclusive and address historical injustices.
Communitarian visions underpin traditional African worldviews and are reflected in their philosophical, economic and cultural systems. Communitarianism emphasizes the collective over the individual, with the idea that the community provides the platform upon which the individual can thrive. Philosophies such as the Zulu Ubuntu (I am because we are) and Akugbe (cooperation)—or more fully Akugbe ore etin (there is strength in cooperation)—found among the Edo people of Nigeria imply that we are only authentic human beings when we realize our connectedness.
One practical example is the Igbo apprenticeship system (IAS), a novel economic system that incorporates the values of Ubuntu and Akugbe with regard to the importance of intergenerational relationships and community ethos. The system became popular following the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970 and the government’s indigenization policy, which left the Igbos deeply impoverished. The Igbos realized that the fastest way to claim back their economic power was to cooperate and share opportunities. The IAS is linked to the cultural belief among the Igbos that children belong to the community and it takes the entire village to raise them and set them up for a successful life. Thus, the IAS can be considered as a social contract among the people that helps to promote entrepreneurship and commerce and thus sustain the economic life of the community. The system provides opportunities for the youth to acquire skills (vocational training) that help them attain a sustainable livelihood. However, the most interesting aspect of the IAS in comparison with other apprenticeship systems is what happens after the training. The graduate is guaranteed a fully equipped business by his trainer, hence there is no gap between training and launching a business due to financial constraints. All that is expected from the graduate in return is to pick a trainee and pass on the skills alongside the capital required to start up the business. Thus, a cycle of trainers and trainees are guaranteed in perpetuity. Anecdotally, the IAS is believed to be a major factor in the economic success of the Igbos of Nigeria, even in present times.
"Nature and the environment are a fundamental but seldom discussed part of African communitarianism. African environmental ethics is closely tied to Indigenous knowledge systems on weather prediction, crop rotation, irrigation methods, conservation and land management processes that are communally held."
Another example illustrating the values of cooperation and community are self-organized groups that help members access credit. Access to formal finance in most of Africa is limited. Savings and credit associations like the Osusu financing system have helped to some extent to breach the credit gap in the region. Osusu cooperatives rely solely on mutual trust and social pressure to maintain them. However, given that they provide mutual benefit to all, the system has endured despite the establishment of formal microfinance institutions in the country. Several explanations have been given for this, such as convenience and the cost of credit, especially when compared to what is obtainable in the formal (micro-)financial system. The cooperative dynamics behind Osusu are not unique to Nigeria, or indeed Africa; variants of it have been found all over the world and speak to the human understanding that working together is the surest way to achieve enduring success. While this form of financing for some people may be considered as petty savings, studies have shown that for women in Africa, it is an important source of business finance.
The eco-social contract is very much concerned with properly situating nature and the environment in its design. Nature and the environment are a fundamental but seldom discussed part of African communitarianism. African environmental ethics is closely tied to Indigenous knowledge systems on weather prediction, crop rotation, irrigation methods, conservation and land management processes that are communally held. Furthermore, Ubuntu provides guidance on how to relate to the environment. This is typified in Ukama, an extension of Ubuntu that describes how people’s relationship with nature is an integral part of their humanity. Ukama therefore connects past, current and future generations premised on the necessity that each generation preserve and maintain nature as a duty, evocative of the modern principle of intergenerational equity. This is a commonality across many Africans belief systems, with the idea being that the dead remain an important part of the living. In the Edo culture, ancestors are referred to as enikaro, which translates loosely to “those that came before.” They are considered as holding the ethos of the community and the principles that guide behaviour. Related to the concept of enikaro is the supremacy of the Oba, or “king,” who embodies the spirit of the ancestors. The Oba is considered to be divine and to own all the land—Obayantor. Citizens as stewards of the land have a duty to preserve and maintain it for themselves and the Oba. These various examples show that traditional African society was structured in such a way that living generations worked hard to maintain their natural environment and preserve it for future generations.
As can be seen so far, the institutional arrangements that promote collective action are inherent in the philosophical, economic, religious and cultural systems of traditional African societies. For instance, the African Indigenous economic systems examined here speak to the customs of knowledge transfer, capital acquisition and the social networks that support them. These systems emphasize values like solidarity, shared burdens and collective efforts to meet communal needs, which made these contracts effective and might provide a framework that new eco-social contracts can leverage. While these communitarian approaches were foundational for traditional African society, they have not gained prominence in the social and political landscape of modern Africa. There are no simple explanations for this, but one might consider that the educational, economic, social and legal frameworks of most present-day African nations were modelled after the Western worldview of their colonizers. Decades after most of these nations gained independence, the Eurocentric framework is still preferred, although recently alternative voices have begun to push for an Africa that looks inwards. These voices need to be strengthened so that these values can be adequately conceptualized and then mainstreamed into economic, social and legal frameworks that underpin the social contract. Achieving this would mean that these traditional values have moved beyond family and community borders to shaping the path of the nation-state.
In conclusion, this think piece espouses communitarianism as not only a philosophy that advocates the values of humans living in community with one another, but one that places great importance on the role of nature. What then are the core values that this broad view of African communitarianism can bring to the new eco-social contract? The new eco-social contract must have at its core shared values built on care, solidarity, reciprocity and community. It must recognize that humans, whatever their race, ethnicity, country or position, are equal and have the right to dignity and a share in our common patrimony. In the same vein, economic systems must prioritize communitarian values like equity, fairness, knowledge and skill sharing. They must move beyond the understanding of nature as a tool to satisfy human needs to nature as an important stakeholder in the fight for a more sustainable future.
This article reflects the views of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent those of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
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