Afro-Communitarianism and the Question of Rights

We argue that Menkiti and Gyekye – the forerunners in Afro-communitarianism, to different extents both trivialise the notion of human rights. While Menkiti prioritises community and denies human rights, Gyekye who upholds human rights subsumes these to the community. We contend that both are however...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theoria (Pietermaritzburg) 2018-12, Vol.65 (157), p.78-99
Main Authors: Chimakonam, Jonathan O., Nweke, Victor C. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African culture
Communitarianism
Comparative analysis
Confusion
Human rights
Philosophers
Philosophy
Sensory perception
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Summary:We argue that Menkiti and Gyekye – the forerunners in Afro-communitarianism, to different extents both trivialise the notion of human rights. While Menkiti prioritises community and denies human rights, Gyekye who upholds human rights subsumes these to the community. We contend that both are however mistaken in their trivial conceptions of human rights. To clarify the confusion, we propose that the notion of rights in Afro-communitarianism can have two possible senses namely, rights as participatory and rights as entitlements and that the failure to recognise these senses was what led Menkiti to a fringed position and Gyekye to a difficult position. We then conclude that Afro-communitarianism, in both Menkiti and Gyekye harbours a certain notion of rights contrary to Menkiti’s assumption but it is not one that accommodates the idea of inalienability contrary to Gyekye’s suggestion.
ISSN:0040-5817
1558-5816
DOI:10.3167/th.2018.6515706