Ujamaa

Habarajani:

I suppose that by now, some may have had the chance to peruse the Arusha Declaration and appreciate the similarities between the principle of Ujamaa and the models for the development of community asarticulated by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

The concept of Ujamaa....cooperative economics, is a principle that speaks to the fact that what Kwanzaa is reaching for, is not just to address the material needs of the community, it is not solely the control of economic activity by black folk.

If I understand the observation of Walter Rodney, work is not only the production of goods and services, but the creation of culture.
Ujamaa offers a healthy a wholistic system, through which to pursue our essential needs with the integrity of culture.
Cooperation humanizes the mundane pursuit of resources for survival, comfort as against the competition and conflict, accepted as natural and even sacred in the economic model of the dominant global culture.

In the paradigm of monopoly capitalism, the so-called realist approach, offers that when there are finite resources, one side or the other must dominate, us against them, winners and losers. In fact, the condition of great need, imbalance, is seen as a driving, if not defining element of capitalism.

Cooperation in contrast, posits that precisely because there is limited resources there should be greater collaboration, harmony and sharing.
This is the wisdom of a culture that appreciates and has the depth, to trust the inherent creative capacity the human to solve her problems. Relations of harmony offer the fertile soil for maturation of that seed.

Our culture, the ancient wisdom that informs Kwanzaa, ( at it's best ) chooses MAAT, problem solving, trust and creativity over destruction.
"The Ujamaa village is a new conception, based on the post Arusha Declaration understanding that what we need to develop is people, not things, and that people can only develop themselves . . . " Julius Nyerere.
The competition evidenced by those in the dominant global economic culture, sees those very relations as a threat.
The answer to supposed scarcity becomes ......reduce the population rather than redistribute the wealth.

My proposal is that the embrace and actualization of the principle of Ujamaa, cooperative economics, offers us control of our communities.
But beyond that, if successful, this puts us on an inevitable collision course, with those who rule, those who enjoy privilege and power through exploitation, domination and treachery.
Ujamaa then, becomes a bold challenge, an act of righteous revolution against this system, that engorges itself by preying on us here in the diaspora and those in the motherland.
Ujamaa, is unity expressed in the process of collective responsibility, to achieve sovereignty- self-determination in taking care of our collective, economic well being.

Peace