Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu word that means “humanity.” It is alternatively translated as “I am because we are” (or “I am because you are”) or “humanity toward others” (Zulu umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu). The latter phrase is used in Xhosa, although it is often used in a more philosophical sense to signify “believe in a universal bond of sharing that connects all people.”
According to Ubuntu, society bestows humanity on humans. A Zulu-speaking person, for example, would say “khuluma isintu,” which means “speak the language of people” when told to speak in Zulu. When someone behaves properly, a Sotho speaker might say “ke motho,” which means “he/she is a human.” The feature of this that would be highlighted by a story told (frequently in private quarters) in Nguni “kushone abantu ababili ne Shangaan”, in Sepedi “go tlhokofetje batho ba babedi le leShangane”, and in English “go tlhokofetje batho ba babedi le leShangane” (two people died and one Shangaan). In each of these cases, humanity is derived from conforming to or being a member of the tribe.
“Ubuntu” as a political concept promotes communal equality and income distribution. This socialization is a relic of agrarian peoples as a safeguard against individual crop failures. Socialisation requires a communal population with whom individuals empathize and, as a result, have a vested interest in its collective prosperity. The urbanization of humans and their aggregation into an abstract and bureaucratic state diminishes empathy. However, African intellectual historians such as Michael Onyebuchi Eze have argued that the concept of “collective responsibility” should not be seen as absolute, with the community’s good preceding the individual’s welfare. According to this viewpoint, Ubuntu is a communitarian philosophy that differs significantly from the Western concept of communitarian socialism. In truth, ubuntu fosters a concept of shared human subjectivity that promotes the good of a community by unconditionally recognizing and appreciating individual individuality and difference.
In South African law, what is ubuntu?
In a communitarian perspective, Ubuntu refers to an African way of life that pays respect to human dignity and equality to all people, regardless of status.
What is Ubuntu’s function?
Ubuntu is the essence of a human being, the divine spark of goodness that is inherent in all living things. The heavenly ideals of Ubuntu have guided African societies since the dawn of time. Ubuntu was and still is the guiding philosophy in how one interacts with other humans, nature, or The Creator.
