Book Review: Africa: The Mind of Africa
| Date | 01 March 1964 |
| Author | D. C. Savage |
| Published date | 01 March 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206401900140 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
120
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
at
which
the
revolutionary
elite,
composed
mainly
of
Western-educated
administrators,
left
the
field
of
rational
long-term
planning
to
the
mystically-inclined "solidarity-maker",
primarily
devoted
to
the
manipu-
lation
of
the
masses
and
the
promotion
of
emotional
heroics.
The
fall
of
Wilopo
and
his colleagues
marks
the
end
of
any
real
acceptance
of
Western
parliamentarianism
and
inaugurates the
use
of
non-constitutional pressures
by
President
and
Army,
thus
weakening
the prestige
of
Parliament.
This
same
conflict
causes
the
PNI
(Nationalists)
to
seek
the
support
of
the
PKI
(Communists),
legitimizing
the
latter
party
and
giving
it a
voice
in
the
inner
councils
of
government
for
the
first time
since
the
abortive
Musso
coup
of
September,
1948.
Describing
the
process
by
which
the
mass
leader
gradually
replaced
the
intellectual
elements
as
the
preponderant
force
in
Indonesian
politics,
Feith
attempts
to
couch
the
political
forces
at
play
in
dichoto-
mous
categories.
This may
help
to
clarify
the
matter
but
nonetheless
invites
over-generalization:
the
actual
record
is
more
mixed
and
compli-
cated
than
is
sometimes
presented
here.
One
has
also
cause
to
wonder
whether
attempts
to
copy
the
rational
Western
approach
would
neces-
sarily
fit
the
Indonesian
model.
Did
the
Indonesian
intellectual
here
not
lose
sight
of
the
problem?
Did
he
not
fail
to
respond
more
fully
to
the
moods of
the
Indonesian
people?
Although
insufficient
light
is
cast
here
by
Dr. Feith
the
excellent
qualities
of his
work
will
merit
it
first
place
in
its
field.
The
breadth
of
its
coverage
makes
it
an
illuminating
study
of
the
whole
political
arena
of
Indonesia.
It is
essential
reading
for
any
one
who
wishes
to
understand the
troubled,
or
perhaps
dangerous
times
that
lie
ahead
for
that
vast insular
country,
the
largest-and
potentially
the
wealthiest-
nation
of
South
East
Asia.
Sault
Ste.
Marie
B. B.
HERING
Africa
THE
MIND
OF
AFRIcA.
By
W. E.
Abraham.
1962.
(London: Weidenfeld
&
Nicolson.
Toronto:
McClelland
&
Stewart.
206pp.
$5.25)
It
is
usually
reprehensible
for
reviewers
to
discuss
the
book
that
the author
did
not
write.
But
in
this
case such
a
discussion
is
justified,
for
Professor
Abraham
set
out
to
examine
the
sources
of
authority
and
the
nature
of
right
and
duty in
traditional
Akan
society
with
a
view
to
relating
the
structure
and
controls
of
this
society
to
those
in
the
emerging
communities
of
West
Africa. This
could
have
turned
into
a
useful
examination
of
myth
and
reality
in
the
communal
creed
of
men
such
as
S~kou
Tour&
The
original
intention
seems
to
have
been
a
search
for
roots
and for
a
rationale
to
explain and
justify
the
present
Unfortunately,
like
so
many
others
both
in
Africa
and
Canada
who
attempt
this
journey,
the
author
got
lost
on
the
way.
The
book
commences
with
a
theoretical
discussion
of
the
nature
of
society
and
then
moves
on
to
a
description
of
the
Akan
community.
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