THE PLACE OF AN ETHICS OF SOLIDARITY IN MITIGATING THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

doi:10.26565/2226-0994-2020-62-20

Mark O. Ikeke Delta State University; P. M. B. 1, 330106, Abraka, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9115-378X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26565/2226-0994-2020-62-20

Keywords: Ethics, solidarity, unemployment, employment, Sub-Sahara Africa

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa like some other parts of the world is plagued by myriads of problems such as environmental degradation, climate change, illegal migration, human trafficking, terrorism, resources conflicts, bad and inept leadership, failing states, armed banditry, drug smuggling, youth restiveness, unemployment, etc. One of these problems, unemployment, has led to the devastation of many human lives and equally made some persons to live in degrading manner that affect environmental resources. Unemployment is not simply about statistics or numbers but about actual human lives who are holders of rights and dignity. Unemployment can impede the exercise of human rights and prevent people from living meaningful lives. In spite of the region’s enormous natural resources and human capital unemployment remains drastically unabated. Why is this situation so? This situation is problematized here. Consequently, this paper critically and analytically examines this problem of unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa in the light of an ethics of solidarity. The paper hermeneutically interprets the concepts involved in the study. The grave reasons for unemployment in the region will be examined with likely solutions. Besides these possible solutions, the paper sees the issue as also bordering on ethical realities. Many of the factors that causes employment borders on human behaviours and morality. There are ethical dimensions to the issue then. This is why the paper takes the vantage point of an ethics of solidarity to argue for an additional solution to the problem. This is equally the theoretical frame from which the problem of unemployment is examined. Living in solidarity makes individuals to easily collaborate and overcome societal problems like unemployment. The paper finds that unemployment is a pervasive problem in the sub-continent and is causing grave consequences for both human lives and the environment. The paper concludes that an ethics of solidarity can help in mitigating the problem of unemployment in the sub-continent. And that when this is done it will help to create a happier and peaceful sub-continent.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Mark O. Ikeke, Delta State University; P. M. B. 1, 330106, Abraka, Nigeria

PhD in Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy

References

Abercrombie, N., Hill, S., & Turner, B. S. (2000). The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. London: Penguin Books.

African Union. (1981). African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Retrieved from https://au.int/en/treaties/african-charter-human-and-peoples-rights.

Bayertz, K. (1999). Four Uses of Solidarity. In K. Bayertz (Ed.), Solidarity (pp. 3–28). Dordrecht: Kluwer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9245-1.

Brock, G., & Brighouse, H. (2005). Introduction. In G. Brock & H. Brighouse (Eds.), The Political Philosophy of Cosmopolitanism (pp. 1–9). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614743.002.

Chaturvedi, A. K. (2006). Academic’s Dictionary of Political Science. New Delhi: Academic (India) Publishers.

Cheah, P., & Robbins, B. (Eds.). (1998). Cosmopolitics: Thinking and Felling Beyond the Nation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Dawson, A., & Jennings, B. (2012). The Place of Solidarity in Public Health Ethics. Public Health Reviews, 34(1), 65–79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391656.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). Unemployment. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/unemployment.

Ekei, J. C. (2001). Justice in Communalism: A Foundation of Ethics in African Philosophy. Lagos: Realm Communications.

Francis, P. (2014). Pope’s Address to Popular Movements. Retrieved from https://zenit.org/articles/pope-s-address-to-popular-movements.

Garrett, T. M. (1968). Problems and Perceptive in Ethics. New York: Sheed & Ward.

Głos, A. (2017). Solidarity in the Classical Tradition. Logos i Ethos, 2(46), 7–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15633/lie.2359.

Hill, B. R., Knitter, P., & Madges, W. (2002). Faith, Religion, and Theology: A Contemporary Introduction. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications.

Hobgood, M. E. (2007). Solidarity. In O. O. Espin, & J. B. Nickoloff (Eds.), An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies (pp. 1306–1307). Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press.

Hooft, S. V. (2009). Cosmopolitanism: A Philosophy for Global Ethics. Stocksfield, UK: Acumen.

Ihensekhien, O. A., & Asekome, M. O. (2017). Youth Unemployment and Economic Growth: Lesson from Low-Income Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. European Journal of Economics, Law and Politics, 4(2), 1–15.

Jary, D., & Jary, J. (2000). Collins Internet-Linked Dictionary of Sociology. Glasgow, UK: HarperCollins Publishers.

King, M. L. (1963). Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Retrieved from https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html.

Mawere, M., & Mubaya, T. R. (2016). African Philosophy and Though Systems: A Search for a Culture and Philosophy of Belonging. Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa Research and Publishing CIG. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvk3gkz5.

Nyerere, J. K. (1968). Ujamaa: Essays on Socialism. Dar es Salaam: Oxford University Press.

Okoji, M. A. (1997). Female Household’s Heads in Ini: The Environmental Consequences of Poverty. In Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria: Selected Papers for the 1997 Annual Conference (pp. 383–396). Ibadan: Nigerian Economic Society.

Omoregbe, J. (1993). Ethics: A Systematic and Historical Study. Lagos: Joja Educational Research and Publishers.

Paul, J. (1978). Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-rei-socialis.html.

Paul, J. (1990). Address to the Workers at St. Margaret Square, Cottonera. L’Osservatore Romano, 5 (English Language Edition).

Paul, J. (1981). Laborem Exercens. Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens.html.

Scholz, S. J. (2013). Solidarity. In H. LaFollette (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics (Vol. VIII, pp. 4957–4964). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Sindima, H. J. (2016). Umunthu: The Ontology of African Ethics. In E. O. Gbadegesin, Y. K. Salami & K. Abimbola (Eds.), Exploring the Ethics of Individualism and Communitarianism: Multidisciplinary Essays in Honour of Professor Segun Gbadegesin (pp.21–54). Mitchellvile, MD, USA: Harvest Day Publications.

Sullivan, W. M., & Kymlicka, W. (2007). Table of Contents. In W. M. Sullivan & W. Kymlicka (Eds.), The Globalization of Ethics (pp. VII-VIII). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511498701.

Umo, J. U. (2007). Economic: An African Perspective. Lagos: Millennium Text Publishers.

United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights.

Wojtyla, K. (1979). The Acting Person. (A.-T. Tymieniecka, Ed.; A. Potocki, Trans.). Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing. (Original work published 1969).

World Bank. (2020, June 21). Unemployment, Total (% of Total Labor Force) (Modeled ILO Estimate) – Sub-Saharan Africa. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?locations=ZG.