CRACKS IN THE EDIFICE OF WESTERN GLOBALIZATION – THE SPECTRUM OF UBUNTU AND AFRICAN RENAISSANCE

Abstract

Achille Mbembe noted that “…history and all things flow toward us now. Europe is no longer the center of gravity of the world”. He recognized “the becoming black of the world”. The “broken promises” of globalization and “its discontents” are clearly evident. Widespread inequities, and what Felwine Sarr refers to as “envelopment” have been trailing globalization. The “envelopment” is the enclosure of non-western societies in modes of being and organizing themselves which disqualify who they are and what they value. The disqualification attempts have been unmatched by globalization’s claims of improving lives. The ensuing disillusionment have reawakened indigenous modes of being and interacting that are proving to be more integral and fulfilling - individually and collectively. The awareness is increasing that the survival of human society globally in this century will largely depend on the rediscovery of the power of human community and solidarity known in Africa as Ubuntu. Globally, there is a craving for a world with a more human face. Indigenous spiritual philosophies such as Ubuntu propose this desired world, where conviviality, fluidity between sacred-profane and consubstantiality of life would epitomize human interactions. It is a world which operates with the insight that we cannot exist without one another. It is a world where a sense of a shared existence, destiny and humanity is valued. The mainstreaming of this spiritual philosophy in Africa has the potential to trigger African Renaissance. In this case, globalization in the African sense would be about inclusivity and mutuality, positive-sum game, as opposed to the advancement of global partisan capital interest and agenda. The paper proposes to look through some of the cracks in the edifice of Western globalization and opens up to the new dawn of the Ubuntu humanizing model.