The danger of a communitarianism based on ethnocentric and socio-centric considerations

mluemsa Par Le 09/06/2023 à 20:20 0

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Being hospitable means to see the Nation as the ultimate goal of a long march towards the well-being of a national community that we are called upon to build permanently, by progressively putting an end to all secessionist tendencies, and other communitarian groupings based on reductionist and self-centred considerations. Image:pixabay/samueles/December 2015

Analyze/What is communitarianism? This is a complex concept that has always been the subject of research of many socio-humanists. For the philosopher, political scientist, and historian of ideas Pierre-André Taguieff,

“Communitarianism is used in French since 1980 to designate, with critical intent, any form of ethnocentrism or sociocentrism, any self-centeredness involving self-valorisation and a tendency of self-isolation, in a so-called postmodern cultural context where openness, and more particularly openness to others, is highly valued."

If it is true that in certain cultural and geographical contexts, each individual belongs to a community that distinguishes him or her from others, and facilitates an identification intimately linked to the community of which he or she are members, it must nevertheless be specified that, in all these cultural and geographical contexts with multiple specificities, the creation of a community is submit to several restrictions in the name of secularism. Indeed, if these States, like many others, attach a particular importance to the respect of the fundamental freedoms of each individual, it is important to say that, groupings that could be at the base of Anti-Semitism, Racism, Islamism (not to be confused with Islam), Fascism, Tribalism, and Radicalism, among many others, are strictly prohibited because, conscious of the fact that communitarianism can be linked to acts of terrorism, armed conflicts and wars, many secular States make all their possible not only to refuse the creation and expansion of certain groupings, but also to be sure that community interests are defended by sovereignists, and not by communitarians. Indeed, in these particular contexts where communitarianism is link to acts of terrorism, arms conflicts and war, it is better to encourage those who advocate the supremacy of the Nation over community groups which must work at the local level, for a common good that contributes to the development and growth of a Nation where all peoples are One, despite socio-cultural disparities which are riches and heritages to be preserved and valued, while condemning all forms of ethnocentric and socio-centric groupings at the root of deleterious climates within a set of Territories constantly moving towards an ideal of peace and prosperity, which goes hand in hand with the need to do everything possible to stem or block the path of anything that constitutes an obstacle to national cohesion, and which is likely to harm or undermine national integrity and Territorial sovereignty because, what States which proscribe the creation and the emergence of certain group want to avoid in these particular contexts, is a communitarianism which can be the result of the obsession of those who have ethnocentric and socio-centric ideas, or ethnocentric and socio-centric tendencies, especially in cultural and geographical contexts where, a simple caricature of a Saint, exposes you to an assassination attempt, and even to death, in societies where gangs or violent groups have establish themselves in urban areas on the basis of racial considerations and other perverse and reductionist ideologies. Societies where certain groups fight each other for questions of territories linked to drug trafficking. Geographical contexts where young people or drug traffickers see society as a jungle where the streets belongs to the brotherhood of brigands who succeed to impose their authority by violence. Spaces where in the name of differences which are all the same a source of richness or mutual enrichment, people wage war on each other, because they believe that the other have not his place there.

In Africa, some ethnic minorities or not, constantly seek to impose their will through force of arms, and other barbaric acts which translate concretely the dangerousness of communitarianists groups which are at the root of tragic and irreversible acts. Image:pixabay/Joa70/October 2025

If they are not for example against the existence or creation of Muslim, Christian, Latin American, and African communities among others, what some States do not want in their socio-cultural and geographical contexts, is a collection of singularities or communities which comprised solely the members from the same religion, the same ethnicity, the same department, the same district, and the same village, in States where a particular cause is a national cause that must be defended by republicans of diverse origins,, who unite to achieve common goals, thanks to a heterogeneous group within which Ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity contributes to the well-being of an entire Nation, particularly in Africa where some ethnic minorities or not, constantly seek to impose their will through force of arms, and other barbaric acts which translate concretely the dangerousness of communitarianists groups, which are at the root of tragic and irreversible events. If this reality is persistent, notably in the Democratic Republic of Congo where several groups sow terror for purely selfish reasons which demonstrate a genuine desire to attained pernicious goals, even if it implied kill the members of others communities, it must be said that, this Territory which is currently the scene of a major armed conflict, is not an isolated case on the continent.

The same reality is observable almost everywhere in Africa, particularly in Territories with ethnic plurality and where the worsening of socio-political crises in particular, are tangible examples of communitarianism based on ethnocentric and socio-centric considerations. Not to say that communitarianism is bad in itself, but simply to point out that, it can became bad, when people from the same region use armed force and terrorist acts to impose the rapid implementation of their needs. In this case, it is no longer a legitimate community demand, but rather the consequence of a disastrous and tragic obsession, conducive to the multiplication of terrorist acts, and the expansion of movements of the same name, in a set of Territories where populations are called upon to evolve in harmony, despite the multiple points of divergence, by always prioritizing above all, the paths of sincere dialogue and democratic means, to be sure to achieve satisfactory results, when they are conducted or chosen without hypocrisy or with a genuine desire for conciliation or reconciliation, in a set of Territories where people from certain regions and villages always want much more than what they already have, to the point of being ready to decimate lives and destroy extremely important infrastructure to achieve it.

The dangerousness of a communitarianism modelled under the prism of an identity withdrawal in the era of modernization in Africa

If indeed the scientific division of Territories, both externally and internally, is a calculated act or a political action aimed first to secure the external possessions of the greatest power, and enabling a cohesion favourable not only to the implementation of a more significant bottom-up development policies at the scale of each Territory, but also to the creation and prosperity of regional and sub-regional communities, it must not be taken as an opportunity to justify the reality of self-centeredness that constitutes an obstacle to a process of economic growth of States that must find a model of governance that suits everyone, while remaining One and Indivisible, because whether during the pre-colonial, colonial or post-colonial period, Africans have always shown unparalleled hospitality. The Westernization of Africa, particularly the spread of capitalist doctrine and the concept of private property, has awakened in formerly colonized peoples, a reductionist mind-set that had previously lain dormant, due to the simplicity of their lives within a set of geographical areas where despite the existence of hierarchical structures that granted and still grant numerous advantages, the awareness of belonging to a single community remained more significant. If we unfortunately witness the opposite today, in several African Territories where communitarianism is at the base of several real determination of separations that undermine national cohesion for purely selfish reasons, it must be said that, we always gain more by prioritizing sincere dialogue, because our history constantly reminds us that, fundamentally, we are one people. Hence the need to silence the sound of weapons and choose the path of sincere exchanges, because, as Marwan Mohammed, a sociologist at the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research), points out,

“The term ‘communitarianism’ aims less to describe than to proscribe norms and codes of conduct in the name of the injunction to assimilate, and to proscribe practices and public demands from groups whose singularities are constructed as a threat to social cohesion”

Who, indeed, is proud to see what is currently happening in North Sudan? In Syria? In Libya? In Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, and among others, In the Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo? Despite the specificities that characterize each context, all that Territories have in common the fact that, they are all victims of an obsession that will never lead to anything good, as long as the conflicting parties do not accept serious mediation efforts capable of leading them to coexist peacefully, in territories where everybody have his place. Hence the necessity for those who kill innocent people, to lay down their weapons. Moreover, even if in some particular context like that of Somaliland, Libya, Syria and North Sudan among others, a real desire for rupture is encourage by some foreign States, it is important to say that, in these particular cases, everything is always a matter of strategic interests aimed to better dividing, to better reigning.  

The most economically and technologically advanced societies are those that consistently move beyond the tribal level, to embrace a truly national or community cause, because souvereignist always prioritize national sovereignty. Image: pixabay/Xtrodinary/July 2022

Food and security self-sufficiency of the African continent is unattainable without more serious cooperation, first and foremost among Africans themselves. With modernization and globalization requiring a concerted effort to solve societal problems, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to truly contribute to holistic development while remaining tribalist or egocentric. A community project must not solely be the one of indigenous peoples, but also that of all those who wish to contribute to the well-being of a national community that transcends ethnocentric and socio-centric considerations, at the base of wars and armed conflicts. The most economically and technologically advanced societies are those that consistently move beyond the tribal level, to embrace a truly national or community cause, because souvereignists always prioritize national sovereignty. Everyone should feel at home in Africa, Europe, Asia, Americas, and Oceania, While respecting all regulations in force in each of the Territories located within these continents because, some of these laws, are measures implemented for a better management of the problem of migration in States which must make every possible to limit or stop if possible illegal immigration because, even if there is a need for foreign labours, everybody cannot live well there.   

It is also important to notice that, the willingness to accept others without distinction of tribe, religion and nationality, is one of the major and essential challenges for any State aspiring to genuine development, in Africa in particular, because being hospitable means to seeing how to coexist with others despite differences or divergent viewpoints. It means contribute to the integration of other by integrating them into our projects, which must not be only our own, but also that of all those who need to work with us, and who respect or make every possible to respect the regulation in force in each State. It also means to see the Nation as the ultimate goal of a long march towards the well-being of a national community that we are called upon to build permanently, by progressively putting an end to all secessionist tendencies, and other communitarian groupings based on reductionist and self-centred considerations.

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