African socialism tried to combine modernization with traditionalization

Evidence

It is against this background that African socialism, of the kind propagated by Nyerere and Nkrumah, was accused of promoting modernization via traditionalization. African political philosophers wanted to modernize the lives of their citizens, but at the same time they wanted to go back to the traditional ways of life. It was like taking two steps forward and two steps back. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 120

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘two steps forward, two steps back’ contradiction resonates with critiques of other hybrid modernization projects, e.g. Japanese or Indian developmentalism trying to preserve tradition. — connects to: Long-standing village institutions function as dynamic hybrids of modern and traditional elements. — Emil Sandström and Ann-Kristin Ekman and Karl-Johan Lindholm, Commoning in the periphery – The role…, 60
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 120