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Philosophy : Is it possible to transpose the European civilization in Africa ?
Introduction
Were the colonists right? Did they use the best manner to make accept our society by the tribes of America and Africa?
The first thing to make within the framework of a study of the question is to redefine what is a civilization : the word civilization, taken in its ethnographic direction, indicates at the same time sciences, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, habits and other faculties and practices acquired by the man in the social state. The definition that we will be useful ourselves will be less academic: it is the whole of the features characterizing an organized human group. It is also good to give the mean of “to transpose” which one will use throughout our talk. We will understand in transposable in the direction changing manners gradually and not imposing them quickly, in opposition to the white colonists of the colonialist time.
It is obvious that any social or politic evolution must be done by the diplomatic way. Our development will be done into four points:
Argumentation
Policy
In Europe, the political system used is the democracy. This one includes two sides: the participative one and the representative one. The participative one is all that the citizen makes in the political decisions. The representative supplements the participative because it is impossible that any citizen can always intervene. It delegates its decisional power to another person. That succeeded on the 3-power level. :
Based on this report, it seems obvious that a complete transposition of the political system cannot be achieved in a short run. We must before recall us that the political borders such as they are nowadays are the result of some men, far from all ethnic considerations. The conflicts between tribes within a country are usual. In this context, it seems impossible that a transposition of a government based on the compromise could succeed. Lastly, a transposition of a political system can only be done with an educated population; what is far from being mainly currently the case.
Economy
Africa knew, during last century, a certain economic advancement. That is due to the convergence of three factors:
Education is a key element in the economic place of Africa in the world market. The educated population sees its fertility rate to decrease, its productivity to increase and its level of health to improve. This one can thus take part more actively in the social and economic life of its country.
Currently, since the decolonization, the level of education is in fall. The population is not ready to change its political and economic system.
The social
The most developed social model in the world characterizes Europe.
The development towards an introduction of a European political institution will be done by the control of certain social laws such as the abolition of the child work, compulsory education or unemployment. In this manner, all is dependent.
The cultural
Le Petit Larousse® says to us that the culture is the whole of the uses, the habits, the art, religious, intellectual which define and distinguish a group. The culture makes it possible to African people to identify their selves. It appears that a transposition of the European culture in Africa would lead to a negation of their roots. The acculturation of the African people is in no case desirable.
Counter-argumentation
In this part, we will try to show that a transposition of European civilization is difficult even impossible. The History gives us examples.
The policy
It is true that if unicity of much of parties is still current in Africa, it is also true that certain countries, like Mali, have tendency to democracy.
It is obvious that the democratization of the cradle of the world cannot be done in a few decades. Europe still has its hands full with blood of the independence revolts.
Economy
The traditional NORTH-SOUTH opposition is often done on a monetary basis. Europe has a GNP (Gross National Product) per capita more than 10 times superior to Africa. The gap between the two is enormous and still tends to grow.
Africa produces 90% of its exports in the field of the raw materials. That is not helping. Only a general mobilization of the rich countries on the African problem can get the continent off its economic recession. Let us note nevertheless that economic alliances exist between the African countries.
The social
A social African policy is still premature. Any attempt at social conventions is useless in a weak economic context. However, the African people are altruist. It will come one day when he will have the means of dealing with his stripped.
Culture
As already developed previously, the culture is what characterizes the African people vis-a-vis a world, which has nothing any more but the green ticket like law.
However, we can observe an Europeanization of the ways of life in the large African cities and capitals. It is guessed that the adaptation will be done after modification.
Our position
In this part, we will develop our position vis-a-vis the question.
The transposition, an Utopia...
First, it is necessary to say that Europeans like Africans have their own identity. It is thus impossible to adapt it. In addition, the past proves the opposite. The scars of colonialism are sometimes still too young to make it possible African to believe in European civilization. Another key of comprehension resides in the pride of the African people towards his culture and his membership at the continent. Indeed, the feeling of patriotism is not very present in Europe whereas it is strong in Africa. In addition, the African people keep his traditions and manners jealously.
The partial transposition, a reality...
In spite of the differences in culture that remain, the History gives us certain examples.
Indeed, if it is still possible to find cultures primitive African (such as Bushmen), most of the cultures were modified by European mentality. The transposition is thus partial. The religion is one of the principal elements, which has been transposed on the African continent. In addition, Africa adopted certain ways of life such as clothing or the school syllabus.
Africa is composed of an impressive series of small cultures, which has their own rites. In spite of that, we can see in each one a direct influence of the European culture. For example, much of local languages are the result of a melting-pot with the language of the former colonizer. The catch of the colonizer’s model by Africans is an obstacle in the development of the continent. That involves a loss of identity.
For a transposition of the European values, it is necessary to leave time to act, by leaving a phase of transition during which the values will enter manners.