My Belief System

If I have a hundred bucks and nine impoverished families to look after, do I share the hundred bucks equally among us or do I try to multiply the hundred bucks so I can have a much larger pie to share?

African ubuntu – and dare I say Christian belief – implies that you must share even the little that you have.

I disagree.

I believe in the individual. I know that seems to fly in the face of African ubuntu because, according to ubuntu, if one person manages to rise above the community the entire community must rise with him or her [as long as that person has the community at heart, of course]. Sharing the little hundred bucks among the community may lift the community a little bit up, but I believe, would prolong the stagnation.

Of course the perenial question is how high must one rise above the community before one begins to share? It is relative. For example, if an impoverished community came together and ensured one of their own made it all the way to university and a successful career, it would be expected that such an individual should plough back the gains. For such a community, an individual reaching university would be success in itself. However, for the now enlightened individual that would just be the beginning. A first step on the corporate or business ladder may not be sufficient. But somewhere along the line, before one hits the “jackpot” one has to start ploughing back.

Individualism is a cornerstone of both liberal and conservative thought. I, therefore, consider myself a conservative liberal African.

The emphasis is on African, for the simple reason that my belief system is a sinew of my African-ness with all the glory and the garbage that comes with being African.

.../ to be continued