The Future of Socialism in Africa: Replies
Sklar, Richard
As recently as four years ago, no fewer than twenty sovereign states in Africa were governed by rulers in the name of socialism. Had my article identified any two or more of the political...
...Why should socialist thinkers regret urbanization...
...Viewed differently, they might support conclusions that are not inconsistent with the blend of capitalism, socialism, and democracy that I anticipate for the political economies of Africa...
...First, what is the basis of his belief that pseudosocialistic dictators were really motivated by a desire to improve upon "wobbly" administrative structures inherited from the colonial order...
...I submit that my interpretation of Tanzania's experience under Nyerere as a failed socialist experiment, from which there is much of universal value to learn, is better and more useful than the alternative notion that it should not even be counted as a socialist experiment, nor as one from which socialists have much to learn...
...Yet I do wish to record my respectful disagreement with that opinion...
...Toward the end of his comment, Denitch sets forth several reasons to believe that socialist construction in Africa has been, and remains, improbable...
...Had my article identified any two or more of the political economies in those countries as socialist experiments in Africa, it would surely be vulnerable to Bogdan Denitch's gentle, yet firm, criticism...
...The historical (particularly archival) evidence is mixed...
...Finally, I would not dispute Denitch's contention that the origins of modern socialism are most clearly visible in the histories of democratic movements...
...This fact is never questioned with regard to capitalism...
...In all African countries, from Senegal to South Africa, the so-called "informal economies" of urban and peri-urban areas are frequently dynamic and normally display an immense potential for social creativity as well...
...However, my article states plainly that Julius Nyerere's Tanzania is the one and only significant socialist experiment in modern African history...
...A double standard for historical socialism would signify the evasion of a hard truth...
...It is not scientific to disregard a remarkable episode of socialist endeavor on the a priori ground that "no basis" for a socialist experiment could have existed in the country concerned...
...Why should anyone accept one of the stock rationalizations of such dictators at its face value...
...Apart from my observations on Tanzania, the substance of my article does not oblige me to respond to Denitch's comment, made in passing, that a "repressive politocratic" regime could not be classified as socialist...
...And I contend that Tanzania's failure to sustain a transition from colonial-era capitalism to socialism is a highly significant episode in socialist thought and practice, one that is of considerable relevance to socialists, and to the future of socialism, everywhere in the world...
...Third, are the "swollen" cities, as he regretfully terms them, merely "parasitical...
...I shall mention three of his contentions, which, in my view, require more subtle analyses by those who may be interested in the future of democratic socialism...
...However, these matters are more complicated than he appears to realize...
...SUMMER • 1992 • 407...
...Is he prepared to accept, uncritically, the similar analyses of scholars who have little or no interest in socialism itself...
...In Africa, as elsewhere, both capitalism and socialism have coexisted with dictatorship...
...Second, can my critic be sure that education and social services in postcolonial Africa were starved mainly because scarce resources were wasted on the military and officialdom...
...Yet it is salutary to reflect that within the socialist movement itself, egalitarianism has always been crowded by those who believe in regulation for its own sake...
...By any fair reckoning, the effort made by Nyerere and his followers is entitled to critical respect for both its socialist integrity and its enduring contribution to the history and theory of socialism...
...Furthermore, if I had identified any of the celebrated African revolutionary productions of thirty years ago, such as Nkrumah's Ghana, Sekou Toure's Guinea, or Keita's Mali, with socialism, my article would have been justly liable to Denitch's criticism...
Vol. 39 • July 1992 • No. 3
