Abstract

Marx’s polemic against exploitation focuses centrally on the idea that capitalism not only betrays the inviolability of the human individual, but also prevents the realization of man’s true nature as “species-being” and the realization of the kind of community appropriate to this nature, thus preventing the freeing of human potential from the structural force of capital. I examine this polemic with reference to the views of African philosophers (Hountondji and others) on Africa’s exposure to neo-colonial exploitation, extracting from it a view of morality as a plea for a “humanly human life”. I advance some considerations for acceptance of this plea as a basis for dealing with European domination.