Abstract
The chapter discusses the notion of justice within the communitarian framework. It first presents the communitarian theory in African thought. Secondly, it articulates the normative theory of right and wrong actions. Thirdly, it uses analysis and abstraction to elaborate the meaning of justice within this framework. It is almost impossible to talk about African philosophy without an engagement with the various forms of communitarianism. For this reason, this work will equally attempt to respond to the question above, getting insights from some of the main works in this context. We must avoid the dogmatism of thinking that this is the only genuine philosophical perspective that represents African individuals.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
I will consider the idea of rights in Chap. 7 of this book.
- 3.
Ndapusa means ‘I am ashamed’ (or ‘shame on me’).
- 4.
For example, Nnodim and Okigbo (2020) argue that in the Ubuntu context, the indaba plays a central role in negotiating collective wellbeing and motoring/evaluating the rules.
- 5.
Some of the works that I have consulted for this theory include: ‘An African egalitarianism’ (2015), ‘Relational normative economics: An African approach to justice’ (2020), ‘The role of economic goods in national reconciliation: evaluating South Africa and Colombia (Forthcoming 2023), “Must Land Reform Benefit the Victims of Colonialism?” (2020), “African Ethics and Public Governance: Nepotism, Preferential Hiring, and Other Partiality’ (2020), ‘Replacing Development: An Afro-Communal Approach to Global Justice,’ and Relational Moral Theory (2022).
- 6.
Here in Malawi, the thinking is that education leads to a good job.
- 7.
This was discussed earlier in this work.
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Kayange, G.M. (2023). Communitarian Theory of Justice. In: Meaning of Justice in African Philosophy. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47598-6_3
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