Ubuntu Imperative, and the Violence of Division
The Cracked Vase: Consider an exquisite, ancient vase that has been accidentally dropped, resulting in its fragmentation into numerous pieces. Among these shards, one bears the image of a national flag, another reflects a particular skin tone, a third displays a currency symbol, and a fourth is marked with a specific gender emblem. From birth, individuals are assigned these fragments and are taught, with great insistence, to regard their particular shard as the totality of their identity. They are encouraged to defend their piece and to perceive other fragments as competitors or even threats.
Let us talk about this metaphorical vase, positing that beneath these artificially constructed fragments lies a singular, continuous vessel that has always existed in its entirety. The paramount and transformative challenge we face is to recall this inherent wholeness. This concept is eloquently encapsulated in the South African philosophical tradition of Ubuntu, expressed through the maxim: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu — “I am because we are.” This principle asserts that one’s humanity is fundamentally intertwined with that of others; to harm another is to harm oneself, and to diminish another is to diminish one’s own being.
Such interconnectedness represents the highest ethical manifestation of love, extending love from the individual to the global community. This unity, however, is precisely what the prevailing systems of power seek to disrupt, as they rely on fragmenting the collective to sustain their dominance.
While religious doctrines and various ideological frameworks often espouse the unity of humankind across racial and ethnic lines, this unity remains incomplete without acknowledging the essential unity of the sexes—male and female—and the cessation of individual alienation. The process of individuation, or the separation of the self from others, constitutes a fundamental existential challenge. As Freeman (2014) elucidates, existence is inherently relational—being is being-with. Furthermore, Wagoner (1997) emphasizes that an individual’s life narrative is invariably shaped by their relationship to what lies beyond the self. The forces of urbanization and modernization tend to intensify individuation within society, thereby complicating the formation of meaningful connections among increasingly isolated individuals.
For those experiencing isolation, the most accessible means of overcoming this condition is through affiliation with collective entities such as family, community, caste, or nation. Individuals often express affection for these groups as a means of concealing their vulnerability, isolation, and perceived insignificance. However, as Fromm (1995) argues, such attachments do not constitute genuine love: “The person who has not freed himself from the ties to blood and soil is not yet fully born as a human being; his capacity for love and reason are crippled; he does not experience himself nor his fellow man in their—and his own—human reality.”
Relations grounded solely in blood and soil represent a form of submission to the circumstances of one’s existence, wherein freedom of choice and action is severely constrained. Affection for kin is often compelled rather than freely chosen. In this context, unity is achieved through homogeneity and uncritical conformity, resulting in the loss of individuality and the transformation of persons into indistinguishable replicas. While such conformity may alleviate loneliness and isolation, it does so at the expense of personal distinctiveness and authentic selfhood.
In contrast, love serves to bridge the separation between individuals, fostering a sense of unity without compromising personal individuality. Love amplifies individuality, whereas uniformity diminishes it. Love is what defines our humanity, while sameness reduces individuals to mere conformity, akin to herd animals. Blok (1998) contends that uniformity does not engender true unity; rather, it cultivates a narcissism of minor differences, which can escalate into violence and hate crimes. Fromm (1995) similarly observes that social structures such as the family, clan, state, nation, or church function as extensions of the original maternal bond, providing individuals with a sense of identity rooted in collective belonging rather than individual distinction. Those outside the group are often perceived as alien and threatening, presumed to lack the shared human qualities attributed exclusively to the in-group.
The Radical Truth: Interdependence as the Foundation of Human Existence
Radical Humanism draws upon the philosophy of Ubuntu to construct a political framework grounded in the recognition of universal kinship. It posits that our common biological makeup and shared capacity for suffering constitute the most fundamental reality of human existence. While nationality, race, class, and gender represent significant social dimensions, they are subordinate to this primary human connection. This conception of love transcends sentimentality, embodying a form of solidarity that crosses borders. It acknowledges that a factory worker in Vietnam and a gig economy worker in London are both ensnared within the same exploitative system. It recognizes that the climate crisis disregards national boundaries and that global cooperation is essential for survival. Furthermore, it critiques imperialist powers that sacrifice their own citizens to benefit corporate interests, such as Big Pharma, and perpetrate atrocities, including genocide, to advance geopolitical agendas. Thus, love is articulated as a pragmatic and political commitment to the welfare of all humanity, with particular concern for its most vulnerable members.
The Mechanisms of Division: The Fragmentation of Social Cohesion
If human nature inclines toward connection, why does division appear so pervasive? The answer lies in its deliberate and systematic construction. Power structures depend on division to maintain control, as a unified and solidarity-driven populace is more difficult to dominate and exploit. The fragmentation of social cohesion can be understood as follows:
Capitalism’s Imperative for Division: Capitalism inherently requires inequality to sustain itself, necessitating a marginalized labor force to suppress wages and maximize profits. To secure acceptance of profound social disparities, division is strategically instigated. For example, white workers may be persuaded to view Black workers as adversaries competing for employment, while native-born citizens are led to blame immigrants for economic insecurities rather than the corporate executives who outsource jobs or politicians who underfund public services. Such divisions function as a smokescreen, obscuring shared class interests and preventing collective resistance.
The Political Economy of Borders: Borders function not merely as geographical demarcations but as instruments of economic regulation. They engender a legally marginalized class—migrants—who are subject to lower wages, denial of rights, and exploitation in ways deemed unacceptable for citizens. This dynamic benefits capital by suppressing wages broadly and generating a disenfranchised labor pool. The dehumanization of the so-called “illegal immigrant” is a deliberate mechanism designed to naturalize and legitimize this system.
Imperialism as the Denial of Oneness: From an anti-capitalist perspective, imperialism and neo-colonialism represent the global manifestation of this division. These systems operate on the assumption that certain lives—particularly those in the Global South—are inherently less valuable. Consequently, their territories are exploited, their economies destabilized, and their populations displaced to sustain the wealth and comfort of a privileged minority in the Global North. This constitutes a systemic and violent repudiation of our shared interconnectedness, effectively asserting that the suffering of some is an acceptable cost for the prosperity of others. Such logic rationalizes atrocities, including genocidal acts in regions like Gaza, when they serve imperialist interests.
The Outcome: The Pathology of Indifference
The internalization of this divisive logic fosters a pathological social order characterized by widespread numbness. Manifestations of this condition include:
Normalized Indifference: Individuals routinely overlook reports of famine, genocide, mass shootings, or homelessness, not due to inherent cruelty but because they have been conditioned to perceive these affected populations as separate and unrelated to their own community. Consequently, such suffering becomes a tragic yet normalized backdrop to societal progress.
The Justification of Violence: Dehumanization is a prerequisite for the perpetration of violence. Whether in instances of police brutality, genocidal campaigns in Gaza, or war crimes, acts of violence are preceded by the cognitive exclusion of victims from the collective “us.” This denial of shared humanity enables the rationalization of atrocities as necessary measures for the protection of “our” safety, prosperity, or way of life. For example, Gazan individuals are derogatorily labeled as “human animals,” and Gazan children are preemptively characterized as future “terrorists.”
Obstruction of Global Solidarity: The most potent catalyst for transformative change is a unified global citizenry. Movements advocating for climate justice, equitable global economies, universal human rights, and Palestinian liberation are all undermined by artificially constructed divisions rooted in nationalism, racism, and xenophobia. Moreover, criticism of Zionism is frequently criminalized, further impeding collective problem-solving by obstructing recognition of a shared global identity.
Mending the Vase: The Practice of Seeing the Whole
The process of “mending the vase” entails the ongoing effort to heal this pathology of disconnection. It begins with the rejection of the falsehood of separation and the cultivation of a holistic perspective that acknowledges our fundamental interconnectedness.
This concept entails deliberately seeking connections that transcend artificially constructed divisions by attentively engaging with the narratives of individuals whose lived experiences differ from one’s own. It involves critically examining prevailing discourses that attribute vulnerability to the inherent failings of marginalized groups. Furthermore, it recognizes that labor strikes occurring in distant countries are intrinsically linked to one’s own struggles, as they confront the same entrenched power structures responsible for wage stagnation. The pursuit of justice in any context is thus understood as a challenge to injustice universally.
The principle of Ubuntu is not an idealistic or naive aspiration; rather, it constitutes a resolute and pragmatic acknowledgment of our interconnected reality. Our destinies are intertwined, and our survival is collective. The most profound expression of love—and simultaneously, the most potent form of resistance—is to live in accordance with this truth. It requires relinquishing individual fragmentation and embracing the unifying effort to restore cohesion. This process demands patient and courageous labor to reassemble the broken pieces until a collective reflection of our shared humanity emerges.
Cititaion
Anderson, Benedict. (1983). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Verso.
Du Bois, W.E.B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk. (Chapter on “The Veil”).
Freeman, Mark Philip, “The priority of the other : thinking and living beyond the self”, 2014, Publisher Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press
Hooks, Bell. (2000). All About Love: New Visions. William Morrow.
Roediger, David R. (1991). The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class. Verso.
Tutu, Desmond. (1999). No Future Without Forgiveness. Image.
