Towards an African Political Philosophy of Needs

This book focuses on the domains of moral philosophy, political philosophy, and political theory within African philosophy. At the heart of the volume is a call to imagine African political philosophy as embodying a needs-based political vision. While discourses in African political philosophy have fixated on the normative framework of human rights law to articulate demands for social and global justice, this book charts a new frontier in African political thought by turning from ‘rights’ to ‘needs.’ The authors aim to re-orient discourses in African philosophy beyond the impasse of rights-based confrontations to shift the conversation toward needs as a cornerstone of African political theory.

• African philosophy
• global south
• dignity
• development
• human rights
• political theory

"Molefe and Allsobrook are here opening a new vista in the episteme of African political philosophy. Without a doubt, this is the most extensive discussion on the topic of ‘need’ in African philosophy since the days of Odera Oruka." (Jonathan C. Chimakonam, Senior Lecturer, University of Pretoria, South Africa)

 "Towards an African Political Philosophy of Needs offers a novel dimension to African political theory. It transcends the generally accepted approaches to distributive justice based on rights theories by approaching it from a needs perspective. It will be of great value to anyone who wishes to appreciate the different appeals to African social, political and ethical theories ranging from normative theory, communitarian philosophy, personhood and human dignity." (Munamato Chemhuru, Senior Lecturer, Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe)

• Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa

  Motsamai Molefe, Christopher Allsobrook

Motsamai Molefe is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa, at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa.

Christopher Allsobrook is Director of the Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, where he is also leader of the Humanities Research Niche Area in ‘Democracy, Heritage and Citizenship.’

Policies and ethics