Cultural Nostalgia: A Philosophical Critique of Appeals to the Past in Theories of Re-Making Africa

Abstract

The present African situation can best be described as the crisis of post-colonial Africa. Lagging behind, as it were, on all developmental fronts, Africa is regarded by many as the world’s tragedy. A common explanation for this situation is that the indigenous social culture was superimposed upon by alien colonialist cultures leading to a confused cultural amalgam in which Western conceptions of the good have been imposed upon African thought and conduct.

In response to the grim contemporary realities, many African leaders and theorists have advocated a return to ‘African roots’ and indigenous cultures of Africans for new social and political theories and practices to solve Africa’s problems.

This paper proffers a theoretical refutation of the validity of such appeals to the past, and rejects a return to certain traditional African structures and institutions as advocated in some contemporary theories of re-making Africa.