Ubuntu: The African “I Am Because We Are” Before Democracy

Was Communalism Humanity’s First Democracy?

Before there were parliaments, political parties, or the word democracy itself, there was something older, deeper, and more human; communalism. Across the world, from Africa to the Americas, from Asia to Australia, people once organized life around shared responsibility, cooperation, and kinship. In Traditional African societies, this philosophy wasn’t a concept, it was a way of being. It’s what the Zulu and Xhosa call Ubuntu — “I am because we are.”

Today, we’ll journey back to that way of life to explore whether communalism might, in fact, have been the world’s first democracy.

Before Democracy: Communalism as the Original System

Long before Western-style democracy or capitalism took hold, many societies were already governed by systems grounded in collective welfare and mutual responsibility.

From the Inca Empire in South America, to Ancient China, Native American nations, Aboriginal Australian communities, and Traditional African societies; people lived with an understanding that the strength of one was tied to the strength of all.

This way of life predates Karl Marx’s “Communism” by centuries. In fact, African and Indigenous communal systems operated long before Marx coined the term in the mid-1800s. They were not born out of theory but from lived practice, spiritual balance, and a sense of shared destiny.

Five Pillars of Communalism in Traditional African Societies

1. Communal Ownership & Resource Sharing

Land and essential resources were not privately owned but shared. Everyone had access to what was needed for survival and wellbeing. Traditional labour-sharing systems, like esusu or harambee, ensured no one was left behind.

2. Emphasis on Community Over Individualism

The welfare of the community always came first. Personal ambitions were measured by their contribution to the collective good. Success was a shared achievement.

3. Working Together & Mutual Support

Cooperation was more than a virtue, it was a social necessity. Whether in farming, building, or celebrating, people worked side by side, driven by the principle that “one person’s burden is everyone’s concern.”

4. Consensus-Based Decision Making

Traditional governance valued consensus, not competition. Elders, chiefs, and community representatives facilitated dialogue until agreement was reached — a far cry from today’s majority-rule politics.

5. Strong Kinship Ties

Family and extended kinship networks formed the foundation of social life. These ties created safety nets and systems of care long before any form of government welfare existed.

This harmony was disrupted when colonial powers arrived, carving Africa into pieces; borders drawn like lines on a pie chart and introducing systems that replaced shared life with ownership, hierarchy, and control.

Money, Capital, and the Redefinition of Value

Notice what’s missing in all this? Money.

In Marx’s 1800s definition, Communism envisioned “the absence of money and the state.” Ironically, African societies had already lived that way, guided by shared labour, trust, and reciprocity. By the mid-1800s, capitalism was rapidly expanding in the West, and democracy became its twin — a system built to protect private ownership and individual power. When democracy arrived in colonized lands, capitalism arrived with it, together shifting focus from we to me.

The result? A global system that glorifies accumulation, competition, and self-interest, eroding the communal values that once kept humanity grounded.

The Cost of Forgetting Our Original Way

With the adoption of Western-style democracy came a deep disconnect from communal living. Today, our societies often reflect individualism over unity, self-preservation over cooperation, and acquisition over contribution. The collective has been replaced by competition.

And the cost is clear: higher inequality, class division, economic imbalance, and a rising tide of anxiety. All symptoms of a system that has lost its soul.

Reimagining a Return to Communal Living

A return to communal living won’t happen by accident. It requires creativity, mindset shifts, and intentional practice.

We must become more conscious about:

• What we give our attention to

• What we support and invest in

• How we build systems that reflect our values, not inherited ones

The current economic and political models do not serve everyone equally. If governments operate on capitalist foundations, then it’s up to us — the people — to design the future we deserve, together.

Ubuntu teaches us that our humanity is tied to one another’s. If one of us is unwell, the collective cannot thrive.

The Journey Ahead

In upcoming publications in posts and videos, we’ll explore how communalism was practiced across different ancient societies what made it work, and what we can still learn from it today.

Because perhaps democracy didn’t begin in Greece. Perhaps, it began with us.

I am because we are. Ubuntu.

Thanks for reading AFROMANJARO