COMMUNITARIAN ETHICS AND THE QUEST FOR SOCIAL ORDER IN NIGERIA

Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding in philosophy is based on the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relationships, with a smaller degree of development being placed on individualism. Although the community might be a family, communitarianism usually is understood in the wider, philosophical sense, as a collection of interactions, among a community of people in a given place (geographical location), or among a community who share an interest or who share a history.¹ The emplacement of communitarianism is a political practice and it is ethical variant. Hence, this study sets to examine the important of communitarian ethics as one of the needed ethos to enhance social order in Nigeria. This is considered necessary as its tenets give room for the promotion of collective interest far above the advancement of individual interest that culminate in greed and corruption typical of Nigeria current experience. Communitarian ethics as adopted in this study is a social, political, moral and philosophical framework that emphasizes the importance of community and social relationships in shaping moral values and principles.² Like many other schools of thought, communitarianism has changed considerably throughout its history, and has various existing camps that differentiate significantly. Both the Old and the New Testament deal with various issues one would consider communitarian today, for instance the obligations to one's community. The social teaching of the Catholic Church (for instance, concerning subsidiarity) and of early utopian socialism (for example, regarding communal life and solidarity), all contain strong communitarian elements, although these works are not comprehensive communitarian statements and are not usually considered as communitarian works per say. The term ‘communitarianism’ was first used in 1841 by John Goodwyn Barmby, founder of the Universal communitarian association, and referred to the public philosophy of those concerned with the development of intentional and experimental communities. After that it was rarely employed until the 1980s when it was used to refer to the works of Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor and Michael Walzer. Michael Sandel, particularly, was associated with the communitarian criticism of liberalism, the main theme of which was that there must be common formulations of the good rather than leaving it to be determined by each individual by him or herself, for themselves. Communitarianism hence holds that the state cannot be neutral.³ Communitarian ethics, which emphasizes the importance of community and social relationships, faces several challenges in Nigeria. Individualism and Liberalism in the state is causing a lot of havoc, people are not selfless, but self centered which negates the notion of communitarian ethics and communalism whereby all the means of production and distribution is being controlled by the communities or states. In a heterogeneous or populated nation like Nigeria, communitarianism is not well recognized because of egoistic nature of man. The limitation here is that, even though cmmunitarian ethics would be pragmatic or useful, the application in Nigeria would affect some individuals who are head bent in colonizing the entire nation. It is irrevocable that, there is no ideology or system of government anywhere that can nullify the relevance of communitarian ethics. Hence, this study, within the purview of philosophy, is an attempt to address the issue of social order in Nigerian. The deficiencies highlighted earlier forms the basis for this present study. Deficiencies such as injustice, cultural and ethnic diversity, religious and ideological differences, lack of trust, inadequate institutional frameworks among others, have been a roadblock for social order in Nigeria, which has led Nigeria to be looking for what is not lost, that is inside her pocket. As such the study sets to mitigate the challenges that lack of morality poses to social order in Nigeria and the outcome that the application of communitarian ethics would brings to the development and the growth of the nation. Given this, the essay is proposed to unravel the moral values and principles of communitarian ethics as well as emphazing the importance of community and social relationships in shaping the moral lives and how social order could be achieved in Nigeria through its principles. Nigeria as a nation is constituted with a lot of challenges that is working against her development. These challenges are product of moral decadence that has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. Thus, it is believed that the situation can be addressed through a new life that is built around moral reawakening. As a result of this, the study argues that for Nigeria and Nigerians to experience a peaceful co-existence and develop along her expectation, the need to embrace communitarian ethics must be given a pride of place. This is justified on the ground that it projects the adoption to communitarian ethics as an etho to be adopted in order to promote social order in Nigeria socio-political and economic space. It is believed that its adoption will mitigate the current challenges that confronts Nigeria as a result of the self-centeredness, greed, and corrupt nature of the individuals that are saddled with the responsibility of enhancing social order. Various Philosophers have discussed extensively on communitarian ethics, that which serves as foundation for this study. Both Africans and Westerners has their say on this study which led to arguments and counter arguments. Kwame Nkrumah presents a unique perspective on communitarian ethics for social order. According to Nkrumah, African societies have a traditional humanist principle that emphasizes community and collective well-being. He argues that this principle can serve as a foundation for African socialism and pan-Africanism. Nkrumah's philosophical consciencism aims to harmonize the three strands of influence in African society: traditional African culture, Islamic tradition, and Christian tradition influenced by Western Europe. He believes that by integrating these influences, Africans can develop a socialist ideology that is in tune with their original humanist principles.⁵ In terms of communitarian ethics, Nkrumah advocates for a collective approach to social order, emphasizing the importance of community and mutual support. He argues that African societies should adopt socialist political structures that are consistent with traditional African values of egalitarianism.⁶ Overall, Nkrumah's communitarian ethics aim to promote social order and collective well-being in African societies by integrating traditional values with socialist ideology. Julius Nyerere also contributed immensely on the concept of communitarian ethics in order to foster social order in the society through his book, Nyerere outlines his philosophy of Ujamaa, which emphasizes the importance of community, mutual support, and collective well-being. He argues that Ujamaa is a uniquely African approach to socialism, one that is rooted in traditional African values and practices. This, he captured when he argues that, "in traditional African society, nobody starved unless the community as a whole was starving.⁸ Nyerere used Ujamaa as the basis for a national development project. He translated the Ujamaa concept into the institutionalization of social, economic, and political equality through the creation of a central democracy; the abolition of discrimination based on ascribed status; and the nationalization of the economy's key sectors.⁹ This is an indication that communitarian as a socio-political doctrine has been in practice in Africa, and that Africans lives for individual, there is a mutual relationship and an iota of brotherhood, familyhood, collective ownership, self-reliance, social equality and mutual support which would results to greater heights and rapt development in the society. Leopold Sédar Senghor, a Senegalese philosopher and politician, was a key figure in the development of African philosophy. His views on communitarian ethics are rooted in his concept of "Negritude," which emphasizes African cultural identity and solidarity. On his own, Senghor argues that African societies are characterized by a communitarian ethos, which prioritizes the well-being of the community over individual interests. He believed that this approach is rooted in African cultural values, such as: Collectivism: Emphasis on the collective good over individual interests. He emphasizes on the culture of the Africans, that which supports the well-being of the community before individual. This view negates the view of the Libertarian which preaches individuals before the society. Solidarity: Importance of mutual support and cooperation. There's a mutual cooperation and supports in the African culture which serves as their uniqueness. Their cooperation would enhances their ways of life such as Agricultural processes, daily works, businesses and so on. Interdependence, recognition of the interconnectedness of all members of the community. They sees themselves as relatives which makes them work together, this would brings about growth and development.¹⁰ For Senghor, "solidarity is the fundamental principle of African society. It is the recognition that we are all interconnected, that our individual fates are tied to the fate of the community."¹¹ He added that the African concept of community is not just a geographical or ethnic concept, but a moral and spiritual one. It is a recognition of our shared humanity."¹² By implication, communitarian ethics is not just about the ways of life in a geographical ideas, but it deals with morality and spiritual ones at that which deals with shared humanity in the African settings. This is reflective of the tenets of communitarian ethics such as collective solidarity, mutual support, and interdependence in African societies. His concept of negritude continues to influence African philosophical thought and cultural identity. Communitarian ethics is not limited to the Africans, but to the Western through their appraisal and criticisms of communitarianism. Various Scholars extensively discussed on the concept such as John Rawls, Robert Rozick, Martha Nussbaum among others. John Rawls, a prominent political philosopher, critiqued communitarian ethics in his work. Rawls argued that communitarian ethics prioritizes the community's interests over individual rights and freedoms. He contended that this approach can lead to the suppression of individual autonomy and the neglect of justice.¹³ Rawls discusses the social contract theory and the original position, which he uses to argue for the priority of individual rights and freedoms over communal interests.¹⁴ Robert Nozick, a prominent libertarian philosopher, critiqued communitarian ethics. Nozick argues that communitarian ethics undermines individual rights by prioritizing the community's interests, that is, communitarianism can lead to the erosion of individual rights and freedoms.¹⁵ It also fosters coercion in as much as individuals are forced to conform to community norms and values, it would eventually leads to coercion. He also opined that, it ignores individual differences. Communitarianism often assumes a homogeneous community, ignoring individual differences and unique perspectives of every individuals. Martha Nussbaum, a prominent philosopher and classicist, also critiqued communitarian ethics in her work, Nussbaum argues that communitarianism often neglects the importance of individual agency and autonomy and it also emphasizes on shared values.¹⁶ She contends that communitarianism's emphasis on shared values and community norms can lead to the suppression of individual differences and unique perspectives. She also argued that communitarianism often lack critical evaluation. Nussbaum argues that communitarianism often lacks a critical evaluation of the community's values and norms, which can lead to the perpetuation of injustices and inequalities. It also fosters insufficient attention to power dynamics. She critiqued communitarianism for insufficiently attending to power dynamics within communities, which can lead to the marginalization of vulnerable groups.¹⁷ In order to achieve the purpose of this essay, the analytic and the prescriptive methods of philosophical investigation are adopted. The analytical method is used to expose the concept of communitarian ethics and the Nigerian socio-political experience, while the prescriptive method is adopted to recommend and appropriate the significant of communitarian ethics in ensuring social order. This study is limited in scope to reinstate African moral values in Nigeria socio-political and economic space to accommodate communitarian ethics as that which could help in achieving social order in her body politics. In order to pursue the argument of this essay, the study comprises of the introduction, three chapters and the conclusion. Chapter one presents an understanding of communitarian ethics vis-à-vis its principles. Chapter two examines African communitarian ethics with reference to some selected solutions, while chapter three attempts a critical reflection on communitarian ethics and projects it as an idea that could galvanize social order in Nigeria.