Ujamaa: Essays on Socialism

by Julius Nyerere

Excellent Book

Genres: Africa, Nonfiction, Politics, Tanzania, Essays, Education, African Literature

194 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1971

About the author

Born in Tanganyika to Nyerere Burito (1860–1942), Chief of the Zanaki,[1] Nyerere was known by the Swahili name Mwalimu or 'teacher', his profession prior to politics.[2] He was also referred to as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation).[3] Nyerere received his higher education at Makerere University in Kampala and the University of Edinburgh. On returning to Tanganyika he worked as a teacher. In 1954 he helped form the Tanganyika African National Union.

In 1961 Nyerere became the first Prime Minister of Tanganyika and following independence in 1962, the country's first President. In 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar and was then renamed as Tanzania. In 1965, a one-party election returned Nyerere to power and two years later he issued the Arusha Declaration, outlining his socialist concept of Ujamaa, which came to dominate his policies.

Nyerere retired in 1985 and was succeeded by Ali Hassan Mwinyi but remained the chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. He died of leukaemia in London in 1999. In October 2009, Nyerere was named "World Hero of Social Justice" by the United Nations General Assembly.[4]

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a socialist, this is an amazingly thought-provoking book for me. Nyerere lays out the basis for his theory of African socialism, which differs from European socialism in several important ways, but most importantly in that Nyerere's work locates communal living and communal tradition at the heart of the socialist project. He points out at one point, and I think this is a great insight, that European socialists fetishize capitalism, making it the necessary precondition for socialism, as well as the basis for a fundamental division within society between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In this way, society is seen as fundamentally at odds with itself, which explains why Marxist ideas are so fundamental to the social-conflict school of sociology. However, Nyerere's proposed alternative for Tanzania is the tradition of ujamaa, which is a broad concept meaning something like respect and togetherness. But the simple interpretation misses the beauty of the idea, which envisions a return to the traditional African (and Nyerere doesn't really account for the wide range of African traditions) of holding land and goods in common, and ensuring the health of the community through a just distribution of goods and resources. He argues that traditional African society was marked by 1) the holding of land in common, meaning that anyone could utilize land productively without anyone making money from rent, and therefore without anyone who wasn't using the land being able to deny the productive us to another person; 2) a social commitment to supporting all members of the community. While not everyone in each community had the same amount of stuff, everyone was assured of having their basic needs for food, shelter, and so on met by the community as a whole; and 3) the assumption was that everyone contributed to society based on their capacities, whether that was agricultural work for the majority of people, wisdom and guidance from older people, or whatever else.

Nyerere takes this basic model of social organization and makes it the basis for the ethical system of African socialism. This collection of government documents, speeches, and pamphlets explains how Nyerere envisions the process of transitioning Tanzania to a fully socialist, agricultural nation. He proposes that Tanzania's policy should emphasize self-reliance and socialism, and that this socialism should be based in a deeply grounded commitment to equality and to communal life where local farming villages would work together to improve their productivity within the available means for an impoverished agricultural country.
https://youtu.be/ej2zlABj8Qo

[Pres. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice read. I’ve had Nyerere on my “to study” list for a minute and his writing does not disappoint. Neither do his political views, world view, and passion for building a socialist state in Tanzania.

I appreciate his take on socialism a lot. Rather than thinking of it as a rigid ideology with a specific step by step instruction for implementation, Nyerere identifies socialism as a fluid theory, one which can and should be influenced by the country/area which it is in. To further explain, take this example: he says that, unlike European nations, Tanzania does not need to go through a capitalist phase before becoming socialist; they can move directly from the colonial stage to socialism with the right amount of work, education and so on. This goes against the grain of traditional western socialist thought, which states that a nation must have a capitalist, bourgeoisie-revolutionary phase before being ready for socialism.

Keeping with this example, the other thing I’m extremely appreciative of from Nyerere is his recognition of the power and greatness of traditional African customs. When he makes the statement that Tanzania can move directly into socialism, he does so with confidence because in African society “everybody was a worker... it was taken for granted that every member of society... contributed his fair share towards the production of wealth.”

Also, I am glad that he identified the inequalities that existed in pre-colonial African society: “women had a different... to some extent inferior position in the community.” Educationally speaking, Nyerere points out that “our education must counteract the temptation to intellectual arrogance; for this leads to the well-educated despising those whose abilities are non-academic or who have no special abilities...”

Overall, I’m glad I picked this up and finally learned about Julius Nyerere and got some insight into his plans, values, etc. The book does get repetitive, but it’s to be expected with these collections of writings. Still definitely worth it. There’s ideas in here that could help us (Black people worldwide) today!! And of course thank you to the ancestor for all the work he put in.

[Natú · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read for a few reasons. While many Marxists will bristle at some of the arguments Nyerere makes, it is clear after some interrogation that ujamaa socialism, as Walter Rodney argued, has definite scientific foundations, and is consciously oriented towards curbing the burgeoning bourgeois and petty-bourgeois strata within post-independence Tanzania. I definitely recommend Rodney's piece, "Ujamaa and Scientific Socialism," as a preamble of sorts to this text to provide context and a valuable Marxist perspective on this idiosyncratic vision of socialism.

Where I think the theory of ujamaa socialism has historically fallen short is in its failure to challenge broader global dynamics of imperialism and neo-colonialism, attempting to achieve development not through extracting Tanzania from its position as a semi-colonial natural resource and primary goods exporter, but through simply brute-forcing its way to higher yields in export agricultural commodities and using the proceeds to move up the ladder, so to speak. To be fair, this was attempted through a thorough reorganizing of socialized production around ujamaa villages (analogous to communes) in such a way as to eliminate private ownership of the means of production and apply both modern technology and materialist analysis to national development schemes, but I think this is a failure nonetheless.

As a book, this was a brief and enjoyable read. Nyerere is charming and educational without being didactic, and while it reads like the series of essays it is, there is a chronology and logical through-line that coheres everything together and keeps it interesting, in spite of repetition and occasional sloganeering. If you are interested in learning about a period of African history and a vision of African socialism totally different from other, perhaps more well-known ones, this is definitely worth reading.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ujamaa by Julius K Nyerere, is a collection of essays and pamphlets, a mix of ideals and strategies for establishing the new Tanzania on a socialist foundation of mutual aid and equality. It is a very different kind of work than Freire's quite intellectual theorisations of the role of struggle and popular education, or Myles Horton's storytelling, yet all three contain very similar and inspiring understandings of radical and revolutionary change. Perhaps my favourite quote encapsulates for me a key aspect of the world I would like to build, and in doing so highlights one of the things I hate most about the world as we have built it to date:

The real question, therefore, is whether each of us is prepared to accept the challenge of building a state in which no man is ashamed of his poverty in the light of another's affluence, and no man has to be ashamed of his affluence in the light of another's poverty. (104-105)

Thinking about it, seems like much of the nastiness of rich people comes from the various rationalisations they have invented to avoid feeling this shame.

From the preface:

The primary purpose of this book is to make this material available in a convenient form for use by the leaders and educators of the new Tanzania. Its secondary purpose is to contribute to the growth of a wider international understanding of the aspirations and purposes of the Tanzanian people, and perhaps to promote further discussion about the relevance and requirements of socialism in relation to mankind's march to the future.
-- J. K. Nyerere, July 1968 (viii)

This is an exciting moment where everything is possible, yet an immensely challenging time where everything must be done in the face of great opposition. Nyerere was a teacher before he became prime minister, first of Tanganyika, and then the new formation of Tanzania as it joined with Zanzibar. He held power until 1985 in a one party state, so this post is looking much more at the ideals than at a more tarnished and controversial reality that I don't know enough about. It does seem though, especially given the failure to transfer power which signals a failure to develop other leaders, that Nyerere's life did not quite embody these ideals the way that Horton and Freire's did. I will have to come back to that, and the very real pressures from the U.S. and international lending agencies and the warning to all Socialist leaders through Lumumba's assasination and etc, but I look forward to exploring more the histories of ujamaa communities. Reading Ella Baker's biography I found out that Bob Moses of SNCC was there as a teacher for a couple of years, in the early 70s, but I haven't found out more yet. From Highlander to Tanzania, though I know a lot happened in between.

Here Nyerere describes a process of building socialism on Tanzania's cultural base, starting where people are and moving forward, recovering from the past what should be recovered to build a new society. For Nyerere:

Socialism--like democracy--is an attitude of mind. In a socialist society it is the socialist attitude of mind, and not the rigid adherence to a standard political pattern, which is needed to ensure that the people care for each other's welfare.
('Ujamaa -- The Basis of African Socialism' - 1)

There is much in Tanzania's heritage that Nyerere is able to look to in building a better future, and such clear common sense that it makes me even more ashamed of the constant fear-mongering and ever present greed in the US, and growing in the UK:

Apart from the anti-social effects of the accumulation of personal wealth, the very desire to accumulate it must be interpreted as a vote of "no confidence" in the social system. For when a society is so organized that it cares about its individuals, then, provided he is willing to work, no individual within that society should worry about what will happen to him tomorrow if he does not hoard wealth today. Society should look after him, or his widow, or his orphans. That is exactly what traditional African society succeeded in doing. (3)

This sense of community is one key here, of taking care of each other. A second is holding land in common, and understanding its use value above its land value:

And in rejecting the capitalist attitude of mind which colonialism brought into Africa, we must reject also the capitalist methods which go with it. One of these is the individual ownership of land. To us in Africa land was always recognized as belonging to the community. Each individual within our society had a right to the use of land, because otherwise he could not earn his living and one cannot have the right to life without also having the right to some means of maintaining life. (7)

The TANU Government must go back to the traditional African custom of land-holding. That is to say a member of society will be entitled to a piece of land on condition that he uses it. (8)

I quite love his critique of actually-existing socialism, some things never change I suppose -- the following quotes are all from The Varied Paths to Socialism (Address to Cairo University, 10 April 1967):

Unfortunately, however, there has grown up what I can only call a 'theology of socialism'...the true doctrine... (76)

Even better:

It is imperative that socialists continue thinking. (77)

And best of all:

For socialism the basic purpose is the well-being of the people, and the basic assumption is an acceptance of human equality. For socialism there must be a belief that every individual man or woman, whatever, colour, shape, race, creed, religion, or sex, is an equal member of society, with equal rights in the society and equal duties to it.

A person who does not accept this may accept many policies pursued by socialists; but he cannot be a socialist. (78)

It is perhaps the headings of the various sections that give the clearest idea of not just the vision, but how he believes it can be achieved through flexible, adaptable, place-specific actions holding key principles constant: 'Socialism is against Exploitation and Injustice' (79), 'Group or Communal Ownership' (82), 'The Purpose of Socialist Organization must be the Central Factor' (84), 'Socialist Policies will vary from Place to Place' (87). Above all -- and this is how it connects with Freire, Horton and others -- is that:

First and foremost, there must be, among the leadership, a desire and a determination to serve alongside of, and in complete identification with, the masses. the people must be, and know themselves to be, sovereign. Socialism cannot be imposed upon people; they can be guided; they can be led. But ultimately they must be involved.

If the people are not involved in public ownership, and cannot control the policies followed, the public ownership can lead to fascism, not socialism. If the people are not sovereign, they they can suffer dreadful tyranny imposed in their name. If the people are not honestly served by those to whom they have entrusted responsibility, then corruption can negate all their efforts and make them abandon their socialist ideals. (89)

The USSR showed what such dreadful tyranny could be.

The question becomes then, how people are involved in building Socialism and in public ownership, and what is necessary for that to happen. First, there is a policy of 'Education for Self-Reliance' (policy booklet published March 1967). There is a need to reject the current idea of education as preparation for a profession, or to inculcate values of the colonial society, with all of its emphasis and encouragement of the individualistic instincts of mankind where wealth establishes worth. Instead, education should be seen as the way in which we:

transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society, and to prepare the young people for their future membership of the society and their active participation in its maintenance or development. (45)

And for the purpose of building a new world, this is what education must accomplish:

The education provided must therefore encourage the development in each citizen of three things: an inquiring mind; an ability to learn from what others do, and reject or adapt it to his own needs; and a basic confidence in his own position as a free and equal member of the society, who values others and is valued by them for what he does and not for what he obtains. (53)

Nyerere looked to the creation of what he called 'ujaama villages', cooperative villages where socialism could be practiced and perfected. From 'Progress in the Rural Area' (speech to University College branch of TANU Youth league, 21 Jan 1968)

In the past we worked together because that was the custom; now we have to do it deliberately and to do it in such a manner that modern knowledge can be utilized for the common good. (181)

An acknowledgment that people learn through doing, through committing to action and then reflecting on that action:

In villages 'people must be allowed to make their own decisions; people must be allowed to make their own mistakes. Only if we accept this are we really accepting the philosophy of socialism...

It notes that sometimes people get it right and experts get it wrong.

Progress needs leadership, but not of the bullying, intimidating kind... A good leader will explain, teach and inspire. In an ujamaa village he will do more. he will lead by doing. (183)

More on leadership:

You can lead the people only by being one of them, but just being more active as well as more thoughtful, and more willing to teach as well a more willing to learn--from them and others. (184)

'Socialism and Rural Development' (Policy booklet published Sept 1967) outlines the underpinnings of traditional ujamaa living:

The first of these basic assumptions, or principles of life, I have sometimes described as 'love', but that word is so often used to imply a deep personal affection that it can give a false impression. A better word is perhaps 'respect', for it was--and is--really a recognition of mutual involvement in one another, and may or may not involve any affection deeper than that of familiarity. (107)

The second:

...the second related to property. It was that all the basic goods were held in common, and shared among all members of the unit. There was an acceptance that whatever one person had in the way of basic necessities, they all had; no one could go hungry while others hoarded food, and no one could be denied shelter if others had space to share. (107)

The third:

Finally, and as a necessary third principle, was the fact that everyone had an obligation to work. (108)

These are villages founded on the full equality of all residents, and with self-government in all matters concerning their own affairs. Some issues will have to be decided through cooperation with villages near by, and a few through democratic structures at an even larger scale:

National defence, education, marketing, health, communications, large industries -- for all these things and many more, all of Tanzania has to work together. The job of Government would therefore be to help these self-reliant communities and to organize their co-operation with others. (129)

These communities mast also address the inadequacies of traditional system, especially the treatment of women. Nyerere writes 'it is essential that our women live on terms of full equality with their fellow citizens who are men.' The second change is that poverty must be improved, they cannot remain with an equality maintained at a very low level. (109)

Above all people learn by doing, step by step, in their own time.

All of this has to achieved through persuasion and choice, rather than force. Looking at step-by-step transformation, carrying out little by little, testing out, evaluating

Village democracy must operate from the beginning; there is no alternative if this system is to succeed...It does not matter if the discussion takes a long time; we are building a nation, and this is not a short-term thing. For the point about decisions by an ujamaa village is not just whether the members do or do not decide to dig a well or clear a new shamba. The point is that by making this decision, and then acting upon it, they will be building up a whole way of life--a socialist way fo life. Nothing is more important than that, and it is not the work of a few days, nor of a few people. An ujamaa village is the village of the members, and the life there is their life. Therefore everything which relates exclusively to their village, and their life in it, must be decided by them and not by anyone else. (136)

For more...

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ujamaa can be understood as a principle of cooperative economics and community self-reliance. This formed the basis of Nyerere’s socialist ideology and national development project of Tanzania. Ultimately unsuccessful but a valiant effort of morphing Marxism to fit the material realities of a newly unified and independent Tanzania. Much like Sankara, Nyerere emphasizes that equality is not only in class but in the elevation of women. Tenets that are again critical to building an actual self-sufficient and socialist society.

One of my favorite essays was “Socialism is not Racialism.” This short essay encapsulates what’s wrong with movements seeking to divide based on race, gender, etc. when we know that’s the tactic of the capitalist and fascist. Nyerere emphasizes that we should not view white people as capitalist just because they are in a position to be so, the white working class is also responsible for building the socialism we desire. Though in the West and colonized nations white people tend to own the means of production due to white supremacy, this is not due to their race but rather access and willingness to accept capitalist practices. Many Africans, POCs, are not only capitalists but even more so have the “desire” to be a capitalist themselves. This essay reaches across the violence that was committed during the Zanzibar Revolution and the historical racial lines that controlled wealth in Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

A lot of this reads like a macroeconomics textbook and plan sociological plan for the future of Tanzania. A future that wasn’t entirely realized. But that does not mean this book should be shelved. This should be a companion to any Pan-African or African socialist project.

[M Caesar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good! a lot of bizarre historical moments documented in this, the essay on "racialism is incompatible with socialism" is a bizarre as hell one to read from a man who helped end colonialism in Tanzania, but other than that? pretty good!

[Oliver Slack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this for a history essay that Im writing at the moment. I really like Nyerere; he's a super charismatic dude.

[Cally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugely interesting read, leaving you with lots to think about especially considering the wider contexts of politics in Tanzania after these essays were published. Would love to read a biography on him. Definitely a polarising figure and these essays were a little disheartening as they have such hope and high ideals but it doesn't all work out and then ofc he becomes a 'dictator'. Very very interesting!!!

[A YOGAM · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Ujamaa: Essays on Socialism“ – Wie man den Kapitalismus mit einer Hacke besiegt
Man sucht eine Philosophie, die Marxismus, den Papst und die afrikanische Großfamilie versöhnt? Dann ist Ujamaa von Julius K. Nyerere das perfekte Handbuch. Dieser Band zeigt, wie Tansania den Sozialismus errichten wollte, indem man sich weigerte, „Millionäre zu produzieren“ – und stattdessen die Faulheit zur „undenkbaren Schande“ erhob.

Der Witz vom faulen Gast und der fleißigen Frau
Nyerere präsentiert den Afrikanischen Sozialismus nicht als abstrakte Theorie, sondern als Rückkehr zur Ujamaa – einer familiären Verbundenheit, die so selbstverständlich sei, dass Klassenkampf schlicht überflüssig werde. Wer Brüder ist, muss nicht kämpfen.
Der Kern seiner Botschaft:
Millionäre sind parasitär.
Vermögen entsteht nicht aus „Fleiß oder Fähigkeit“, sondern aus Ungleichheit. Theoretisch könne ein Millionär ein vorbildlicher Sozialist sein – “aber das wäre ein seltenes Phänomen“.
Sozialismus als Tradition.
Die afrikanische Dorfgemeinschaft sei im Kern sozialistisch, denn man beutete niemanden aus – und man duldete keine Faulenzer. Beweisstück A:
„Mgeni siku mbili; siku ya tatu mpe jembe“ – „Behandle deinen Gast zwei Tage als Gast; am dritten Tag gib ihm eine Hacke. (Original: Treat your guest as a guest for two days; on the third day give him a hoe!“
Wer die eigentliche Arbeit macht:
Nyerere stellt unmissverständlich fest, dass die Frauen „sehr hart arbeiten“, während die Männer „die Hälfte ihres Lebens im Urlaub“ seien, tanzend, trinkend, plaudernd. Diese verschwendete Männer-Energie, so Nyerere, sei wertvoller als jede externe Hilfe.

Der große Anti-Geld-Appell
Der glänzendste Teil des Buches ist die Arusha Declaration. Hier wird mit herrlicher Klarheit abgerechnet:
Geld ist das falsche Entwicklungsinstrument.
Alle Minister und Organisationen „beten“ für Geld – aber das sei „dumm“, weil man erstens keines bekomme und zweitens Abhängigkeit schaffe. Oder wie Nyerere trocken formuliert:
„He who pays the piper calls the tune.“
Seine Lösung ist entwaffnend schlicht:
„Steht aufrecht und geht auf euren eigenen Füßen voran.“
Entwicklung basiert auf der Hacke und dem Ochsenpflug – nicht auf Traktoren und Krediten.

Dieses Buch ist ein Muss für alle, die wissen wollen, wie man nach der Kolonialzeit ethischen Reichtum schaffen könnte, ohne sich an den kapitalistischen Teufel zu verkaufen. Ujamaa ist ein radikales Plädoyer für Selbstständigkeit: für eine Gesellschaft, die keine „Roboter“ produziert, die Pläne von oben ausführen, sondern Bauern, die Verantwortung tragen.

Parallele zur aktuellen politischen Lage in Tansania
Nyereres Vision prägt die politische Identität Tansanias bis heute – doch die Realität hat sich in vieler Hinsicht von seinen Idealen entfernt.
1. Landwirtschaft und der Kampf gegen die Faulheit
Nyerere wollte Männer aus den „Tanz- und Trinkszenen“ in die Landwirtschaft zurückholen. Tansania ist weiterhin agrarisch geprägt, doch die Ujamaa-Dörfer wurden oft mit Zwang durchgesetzt und später wieder aufgelöst – ein direkter Widerspruch zu seiner eigenen Maxime: „Persuasion, not force.“
2. Der Siegeszug des Kapitals
Der „Geist des Kapitalismus“, vor dem Nyerere warnte, ist zurück – besonders in Städten und im Rohstoffsektor. Die Kluft zwischen Stadt und Land, die er fürchtete, wächst weiter.
3. Eliten, Korruption und das verlorene Ideal der Arusha Declaration
Die Erklärung verlangte von Führungspersonen völlige materielle Bescheidenheit: keine Aktien, keine Mietshäuser, keine mehrfachen Gehälter. Heute jedoch prägen Korruption und die soziale Distanz zwischen Eliten und Landbevölkerung die politische Realität – genau jene „kapitalistische Haltung“, die Nyerere als der afrikanischen Weltanschauung „völlig fremd“ bezeichnete.
Die heutige Politik Tansanias zeigt die unvollendete Revolution Nyereres. Die Ideale von Gleichheit und Selbstständigkeit sind geblieben, doch die Praxis hat sich – wie so oft in der Geschichte – dem mächtigen Sog des Kapitalismus zugewandt.
Ein visionäres Buch, das zugleich von der Realität beständig widerlegt wird – und gerade deshalb so lesenswert bleibt.

[Ainhoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julius Nyerere - Socialismo, democracia y unidad (1974)


Aclaración El libro que he leído es "Socialismo, democracia y unidad" y no el de la Ujamaa, pero no encuentro la versión que me he leído en Goodreads y por extensión, este es el más parecido. Así que aviso, la reseña es de la versión que tengo con una preciosa portada del escudo de Tanzania que podéis buscar en internet.


Julius Nyerere fue profesor y primer presidente de Tanzania (anteriormente Tanganika y Zanzíbar) socialista y católico (en proceso de beatificación), en este libro explica su visión del socialismo aplicándolo a la realidad de Tanzania de aquella época.


Me ha parecido interesante su visión del socialismo africano (no era comunista, pero se mantuvo no alineado durante la guerra fría y tenía buenas relaciones con la URSS que apoyó siempre la descolonización) puede parecer idealista e incluso se puede discrepar con él (sobre todo en la parte de la lucha de clases y su visión pacifista casi ingenua) pero no hay duda de que era un buen líder, buscaba la estabilidad para un país recién creado y gozaba de popularidad durante los casi 25 años que gobernó. Rescato algunas frases:


"El extranjero ha introducido una concepción totalmente diferente: La que ve en la tierra un bien comerciable. Según este sistema, cualquiera puede reivindicar una porción de tierra como que le pertenece en propiedad, tenga o no la intención de explotarla [...] Un sistema de tal índole no es que solamente nos resulta extraño, sino que además nos parece absolutamente odioso. En una sociedad que admite la propiedad privada de la tierra, los terratenientes pueden pertenecer, y de hecho corrientemente pertenecen, a la misma clase que los ociosos de los que hablaba hace un momento: la clase de los parásitos"

"Este es mi pensamiento: un sistema con dos partidos no pueden justificarse, salvo en el caso en que los partidos no estén de acuerdo en una cuestión fundamental, de lo contrario, este sistema no hace sino fomentar la división en bandos de la nación. O bien, para expresarme de otra manera: la única circunstancia en que un grupo político puede representar los intereses de una fracción de la comunidad, sin caer por ello en la división en bandos, es cuando este grupo lucha por extirpar de la sociedad una injusticia grave."

"¿Cómo podemos depender de concesiones, préstamos o inversiones de compañías y de países extranjeros sin poner en peligro nuestra independencia?: 'Quién paga la gaita da el tono'. ¿Cómo podemos depender de compañías y de gobiernos extranjeros para la mayor parte de nuestro desarrollo, sin ceder a estos gobiernos una gran parte de nuestra libertad para actuar como bien nos parezca? La verdad es que no podemos. Repitámoslo. Hemos cometido un error eligiendo el dinero, algo que no tenemos como gran medio de nuestro desarrollo. Cometimos un error pensando que obtendríamos el dinero de otros países: primeramente porque, de hecho, no obtendremos jamás bastante dinero para nuestro desarrollo económico; y segundo, porque aun consiguiendo todo lo que necesitamos, tal dependencia pondría en peligro nuestra independencia y capacidad de elegir nuestra propia política."


Como curiosidad, el libro sobre la "Ujamaa" incluye ensayos que son más reflexivos y teóricos sobre cómo poner en práctica el socialismo, mientras que en el caso de "Socialismo, democracia y unidad" (el que he leído) son discursos y escritos más orientados a la situación política de Tanzania en el tiempo del autor.

[Vinny Pagliaccio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though it is mostly speeches and short essays, it's often very vague and doesn't use a lot of precise examples. I would've liked to hear more about the nitty gritty of the ujamaa system. I see this as a general overview of the socialist project and as a primary source, not as concrete theory. I suppose this is a decent introduction but often Nyerere is just saying painfully obvious things that a society has to do. I think there's some major flaws with how he discusses class and the strategy implementation that deserve a concrete explanation. I also found it odd that there's almost no references to any former or contemporary thinkers or writers made throughout the whole text. Nyerere never puts his foot in any camp of political thought, he seems to just sort of make it up and hopes it works out which leads to major problems which played out in real life after writing this. It seems that in the text central planning is not really discussed and that issue occurred as state owned industries and banks began to fail in the 80s. You can tell from the text Nyerere is reluctant to give the state authority over ujamaa agriculture which actually was a major problem as he wanted them to be run entirely by workers even though they needed very structured management and coordination. I, of course, think he should've followed the Marxist tradition which would've lead him to make better decisions in this regard but I digress. Overall, not a very fun read, but a pretty essential historical document.

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this collection of essays and speeches Nyerere issues a call to arms in rejecting the capitalist attitudes and methods that colonialism brought into Africa.

Nyerere ably critiques European Socialism and its relationship with capitalism, particularly what he deems the latter's glorification. The majority of this book is then dedicated to outlining and championing an alternative in the form of African socialism.

Although some economic ideas have aged poorly, this is recommended to anyone interested in post-colonial Africa and Socialism.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writings by the former Tanzanian leader on his version of 'African socialism', or the idea that African cultures had traditionally been socialist in nature before colonialism, and therefore could become socialist by reviving precolonial cultural institutions. Whereas the first essay is interesting, the remainder (Tanzanian plans for the future, written in the 1950s), are unlikely to be very intersting to very many people.

[Mohammed Zamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nyerere’s approach of sharing his ideas through written works was remarkably effective, as it provided an insightful glimpse into his vision for Tanzania. His writings played a key role in helping me understand the ideological foundations of the nation and the principles that guided its early development. Through his texts, one can trace the evolution of Tanzania's socio-political framework and appreciate his enduring influence on the country's identity.

[Klaas · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is all just words, nothing less nothing more and the whole Ujamaa idea has been a big waste. I have worked for more than 15 years in Tanzania as from the '80s and seen the destruction of the way Ujamaa was implemented. It was already well known in Russia and China that collectivization did not work and it will never work.

[mahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifully put and very insightful in to how Nyerere viewed african socialism. i particularly like how he puts emphasis on traditional values without glorifying it (still criticises the treatment of women etc). it does get repetitive at times but i understand why.

[Julius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anschauliche und nachvollziehbare Herleitung des Sozialismus/"Kommunalismus" in Tansania ab den 1960ern.

[Bobby Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen to my thoughts on Ujamaa here:

https://soundcloud.com/bobby-wilson-5...

[Baraka Elikana]

nothing

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating book, unlike many books on the topic of socialism of the time, this book does not bombard its readers with complicated and/or vague concepts. The reason for this is the original audience, the book is a collection of papers written to be read across Tanzania and to be understood by every citizen of average intelligence. This does not mean that this book is mere propaganda material or a book without any nuance and depth. On the contrary the author(Nyerere former president of Tanzania) and his advisors never claimed to know the absolute truth(there is even a part of the book dedicated to the danger of dogmatic belief). A reader who has some insight in politics and ideologies will also notice that Nyerere was far from an orthodox Marxist a high degree of anarchism can be found in this book as well as aspects from the ecological, feminist movements and even some points of what would later be called post-modernism. This interesting mix combined with a small history of Tanzania and at the time economic situation of Tanzania presented in an easily accessible style resulted in this excellent piece of political rhetoric.

Who should read this and why?
it was written for a Tanzanian audience of the 60ties and 70ties but that does not mean it has no meaning anymore. Anyone who is interested in the history of Tanzania, Africa, socialism, cold war will find this interesting. other people who should take the time to read this are: leftist political activists, people involved in development projects and even politicians. But it is vital to read afterwards or beforehand a decent book on the reign of Nyerere and to realise the gap between discourse and reality and to not be blinded by the words of a politician no matter how eloquent.

[Esther_essy · Rating 5 out of 5]

good