D.A.M.

Janssen Date: 25 May 2018

Academic Skills Student Number: s1976354

How Nkrumaism as a political philosophy can reduce the

burden of Max Weber’s concept of the “Iron Cage of
rationality” in Third World African countries?

Frantz Fanon, the Martinique born psychoanalyst quoted: “Imperialism leaves behind
germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land but from our minds as
well.”1 This quote resonates highly today in countries which remain the victim of the
exploitation of capitalism. For years, the earth has become a more integrated and
interdependent world one where man has no boundaries in travelling and where
communication in all its aspects is more rapid than a hundred years ago. This is also directly
corresponded towards the rise of capitalism and neoliberalism in our political, social and
economic history and upbringing. However, the rise of capitalism has its repercussions as
well towards man as a subject. One of these philosophies that may reduce the burden is
Nkrumaism, the political philosophy of Ghana’s founding father, Kwame Nkrumah.
Nkrumaism is a political philosophy that emphasizes Socialism, Pan-Africanism, Marxism and
Nationalism within the context of the African continent. Nkrumaism remains pertinent today
as we are living in a post-colonial world and because this philosophy was developed as a
conduit towards the decolonization of Africa. This essay would thus examine the possibilities
of adapting Nkrumaism in the 21st century and how this applies in solving the economic,
sociological, cultural, neocolonial and social issues in African countries are affected by the
disadvantages that capitalism offers upon their countries.

Sociologically, the dehumanizing viewpoint of the world occurs pertinently due to the
rise of the “iron cage of rationality” in today’s predominantly capitalistic countries. Thus,
Weber argued that in a modern industrial, capitalistic society everybody's lives are shaped
by the ongoing conflict between impersonal, organizational efficiency and individual needs
and desires. As a result, the iron cage shows how a paradigm shift took place upon the
common population when society transformed from an agrarian, feudal one towards a
secular, industrialized one and how this applies to most free-market capitalist countries 2.

However, as this concept only applies in capitalist countries with a neoliberal

economic and political structure, this hindrance can be reduced through the usage of a
political philosophy that emphasizes the welfare, the productive capabilities, and by
1
"Ten Revolutionary Quotes by Frantz Fanon," Kentake Page, July 20, 2015, accessed June 18, 2018.
http://kentakepage.com/ten-revolutionary-quotes-by-frantz-fanon/ .
2
Sam Atkinson and Christopher Thorpe, The Sociology Book:, (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2015,)
eliminating and resisting the neocolonialism that the “iron cage” may inflict upon the
population of a country. Capitalism is a neo-colonial concept, within the context of
Nkrumaism, as it hails its origins from Western Europe, and because it emphasizes on the
exploitation of natural and human resources for economic profit and the disregard of social
good. Moreover, power in the context of capitalism is established in the hands of private
owners, which fuels inequality, corruption and economic instabilities. This would discourage
the inclusivity or equity of resources among the population 3. How this first happens is
because inequalities of wealth often leads towards an advantage or disadvantage in access
to education, economic wealth, class division and struggle along with the inequality in
income. Nkrumaism, in contrast, emphasizes more on how the values and experience of
African societies should be used inclusively utilized to everyone in self-developing one’s
nation.

Within the context of Africa, Nkrumaism may be one of the best remedies in political
philosophy to encourage economic independence, cultural and social preservation, and a
collective will to bring a nation forward. This is also because it can best accommodate and
justify the hopes of members of all social classes and ethnicities in Africa at least. Nkrumah
himself voiced out his belief on how his political philosophy is the best option of leading
Ghana (The Gold Coast) towards prosperity and self-reliance after the country gained its
independence from the British Empire:

“For centuries, Europeans dominated the African continent. The white man arrogated
to himself the right to rule and to be obeyed by the non-white; his mission, he claimed, was
to "civilise" Africa. Under this cloak, the Europeans robbed the continent of vast riches and
inflicted unimaginable suffering on the African people... It is clear that we must find an
African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided we
are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.
Although most Africans are poor, our continent is potentially extremely rich… Yet so far, less
than 1% has been developed. This is one of the reasons why we have in Africa the paradox of
poverty in the midst of plenty, and scarcity in the midst of abundance 4”.

Nkrumah’s analysis in this aspect of his displayed the impact that European
colonization left behind a colonized state. It also encapsulated his desire to unite all African
nations into a United States of Africa. His comparison between the Western countries and
Africa further shows how the inequality gap between the colonized and the colonizers is
staggeringly unfair and exploitative in nature. What should be noted as well in Nkrumah’s
quote as well is the Pan-African message that he conveyed. Pan-Africanism through the
Nkrumaist scope stresses the need for “collective self-reliance” and “collective sovereignty”.
It also sought to empower the African in believing they are capable of creating their own
change and mistakes. Furthermore, Nkrumah’s analysis resonates with his vision and aim to
liberate Africa from the colonial and neo-colonial aspects that has engulfed the continent for
centuries. This includes the religious aspect of how the Europeans sought to “civilize” or
3
"How Capitalism Actually Generates More Inequality," Evonomics. April 28, 2018, accessed June 18,
2018, http://evonomics.com/how-capitalism-actually-generates-more-inequality/.
4
Nkrumah, Kwame. "I Speak of Freedom (excerpt)," Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel
Kant, Aacessed June 18, 2018. https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/1961/speak-freedom.htm /.
“liberate” Africa through Christianity. Nkrumah’s remark on the paradox of ‘poverty in the
midst of plenty’ and ‘scarcity in the midst of abundance’ further showcased how Africa
should not be, as a whole, a poor continent but a continent with economic and financial
independence.

In terms of its philosophical relevance to the iron cage of rationality, Weber

explained how religion, in terms of Protestantism, is the cause and supporter of capitalism.
In other words, people became capitalists as a result of the religion that is spread 5. One
example is how the motivation in early capitalisms stems from the belief that money is what
leads one as a means of eternal salvation 6. Today though, Weber would argue that to spread
capitalism, one should concentrate on a concept that has the equivalent concept of religion:
culture. The reason for that is because culture is a concept that embodies the nations
attitudes, hopes and sense of what life is which, in turn produces a society and economy that
either flourishes or dissipates. In other words, culture is what decides meaning. Weber
further believed that real political and sociological change can not occur when it comes to
fiery rhetoric, a book that creates a watershed event or through the word of mouth, as the
bureaucracy has not been included through changing the inner mechanisms that composes a
state and its administration. The only way to overcome the power lodged within the
bureaucracy would be through knowledge and systematic organization 7. However, what is
most important in Weber’s thought in this aspect is on how ideas are more important than
tools, money, or weapons itself in changing a nation’s ideology. This in turn affects the
political, social, economic and cultural structure and landscape of the respective nation.

One example of a success story of Nkrumaism was in Libya when Muammar Gaddafi
reigned for four decades. Libya was known before Gaddafi’s overthrow as the African
country with the highest HDI8 and standard of living, all because of the successful application
of Nkrumah’s principles in line with Pan-Africanism. Furthermore, Libya is until today the
African country with the largest oil reserves which further strengthened its economic
reliance and Gaddafi’s inclusivity of distributing the wealth the oil generated to virtually the
majority of Libyans. Education and medical treatment were free; having a home was
considered a human right and Libyans participated in an original system of local democracy 9.
The importance of Nkrumaist principles towards Africa is also explained by the proverb,

5
"The Great Philosophers 9: Max Weber," Philosophers Mail, accessed June 18, 2018.
http://thephilosophersmail.com/perspective/the-great-philosophers-9-max-weber/ .
6
"Bringing Pierre Bourdieu "Distinction" in Conversation with Max Weber "Protestant Ethics","
Itohan Idumwonyi, accessed June 18, 2018.
http://thevillagewomaninthewest.blogs.rice.edu/2015/03/31/bringing-pierre-bourdieu-distinction-
in-conversation-with-max-weber-protestant-ethics/ .
7
"The Great Philosophers 9: Max Weber," Philosophers Mail, accessed June 18, 2018,
http://thephilosophersmail.com/perspective/the-great-philosophers-9-max-weber/ .
8
Slt, "Celebrating The Great Achievments Of Muammar Gaddafi," Le-Blog-Sam-La-Touch.over-
blog.com, accessed June 18, 2018, http://le-blog-sam-la-touch.over-blog.com/2016/08/celebrating-
the-great-achievments-of-muammar-gaddafi.html /.
9
"Why Qaddafi Had to Go: African Gold, Oil and the Challenge to Monetary Imperialism," The
Ecologist, November 17, 2017, accessed June 18, 2018, https://theecologist.org/2016/mar/14/why-
qaddafi-had-go-african-gold-oil-and-challenge-monetary-imperialism.
‘Sleeping on another’s mat is like sleeping on the ground’ 10. This proverb shows how
knowledge from a development model from outside one’s own culture or much less, a
continent can never develop a country fully, in terms of its social or economic aspects.

To conclude, before 2011, Libya had achieved economic independence with its own
oil and its own money which transformed the country from one of the poorest to the richest
of countries in Africa. This is a significant example of Nkrumaism as it emphasized the ability
of one’s self-reliance and how one’s people aren’t exploited by a capitalistic system that
relies only on the distribution of wealth and welfare of a few rather than the collective. This
is, in addition not in line to traditional African values, identities which emphasizes the
togetherness and the humanity between all members of a nation or tribe.

In conclusion, Nkrumaism when developed under the right hands of an African leader
can accomplish great deeds as is seen through the success stories of Libya. They were able to
transform Weber’s iron cage through political and cultural change through a coup d’état and
by systematically changing the function and the aims of a bureaucracy, which in turn
affected the political and economic outcomes. How this happens is on how the message they
seek to aim through their administrations is one of “collective self-reliance”, “collective well-
being” and “collective hard work” in achieving prosperity, not a Western oriented approach.
This shows furthermore how free-market capitalism is not compatible when it comes to the
economic, social, political and cultural section of an African country. The other change they
imposed is by changing the aim of the economic system of one where money isn’t seen or
done as an end but of implementing the slogan that ‘Africans are capable’ into an economic
and social reality in their own respective countries. This furthermore resonates with Frantz
Fanon’s quote in eradicating one’s mind from neo-colonialism and capitalism.

10
"Thomas Sankara: An Endogenous Approach to Development | Pambazuka News," South Sudan:
Peace, Democracy and Reconstruction Instead of War | Pambazuka News, accessed June 18, 2018.
https://www.pambazuka.org/pan-africanism/thomas-sankara-endogenous-approach-development .
 Bibliography
Book:

 Atkinson, Sam, and Christopher Thorpe. The Sociology Book:. London: Dorling Kindersley,
2015.

Websites:

 "Bringing Pierre Bourdieu "Distinction" in Conversation with Max Weber "Protestant Ethics"."
Itohan Idumwonyi. Accessed June 18, 2018.
http://thevillagewomaninthewest.blogs.rice.edu/2015/03/31/bringing-pierre-bourdieu-
distinction-in-conversation-with-max-weber-protestant-ethics/ .
 Slt. "Celebrating The Great Achievments Of Muammar Gaddafi." Le-Blog-Sam-La-Touch.over-
blog.com. Accessed June 18, 2018.
http://le-blog-sam-la-touch.over-blog.com/2016/08/celebrating-the-great-achievments-of-
muammar-gaddafi.html/.
 "How Capitalism Actually Generates More Inequality." Evonomics. April 28, 2018. Accessed
June 18, 2018. http://evonomics.com/how-capitalism-actually-generates-more-inequality/.
 Nkrumah, Kwame. "I Speak of Freedom (excerpt)." Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals
by Immanuel Kant. Accessed June 18, 2018.
https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/1961/speak-freedom.htm /.
 "Ten Revolutionary Quotes by Frantz Fanon." Kentake Page. July 20, 2015. Accessed June 18,
2018. http://kentakepage.com/ten-revolutionary-quotes-by-frantz-fanon/ .
 "The Great Philosophers 9: Max Weber." Philosophers Mail. Accessed June 18, 2018.
http://thephilosophersmail.com/perspective/the-great-philosophers-9-max-weber/ .
 "Thomas Sankara: An Endogenous Approach to Development | Pambazuka News." South
Sudan: Peace, Democracy and Reconstruction Instead of War | Pambazuka News. Accessed
June 18, 2018. https://www.pambazuka.org/pan-africanism/thomas-sankara-endogenous-
approach-development.
 "Why Qaddafi Had to Go: African Gold, Oil and the Challenge to Monetary Imperialism." The
Ecologist. November 17, 2017. Accessed June 18, 2018.
https://theecologist.org/2016/mar/14/why-qaddafi-had-go-african-gold-oil-and-challenge-
monetary-imperialism.