This chapter shifts from the philosophy that Nyerere studied at Edinburgh to the history and anthropology that he was exposed to there. It refers to the instruction he received on collectivity and political systems in Africa, and continues to relate this to his later writings on ujamaa. It outlines the Christian environment in Edinburgh, and considers how this impacted on Nyerere’s religious views. It also deals with the literature he studied on educated Africans and political ambition. Further analysis is offered of Nyerere’s relationship with Edinburgh academics, culminating in his decision over his post-Edinburgh calling. The chapter conducts a first study linking Nyerere to the original texts relevant to African societies that he read in Edinburgh, as well as a section on peasant life in China. The analysis includes reference to some of the original books annotated by him. The chapter also draws on Nyerere’s personal communication with Christian mentors to whom he turned for advice concerning his future life.

Social Anthropology: Collectivity in Africa and China

On the face of it, Ralph Piddington’s Social Anthropology option is a less likely place than Moral Philosophy and Political Economy courses to find links to Nyerere’s later political writings. Piddington’s course closely followed his own Introduction to Social Anthropology, which provides a treasure trove of pointers.2 Nyerere purchased a first edition immediately after its publication in Edinburgh in early 1950, and (at some point) he underlined sections of particular interest.3 His annotations give an intriguing insight into the influence of Piddington’s teaching on the collectivity that Nyerere later embraced. Nyerere highlighted a passage on ‘derived needs’ (those man ‘derived from the conditions of his collective life’).4 Piddington then discusses examples of ‘a universal process whereby the need for the organization of collective activities leads to traditionally defined systems of co-operation, to leadership and to forms of political authority’ (original emphasis).5 Piddington thus establishes co-operation as traditional to the people, and that co-operation bolsters the power of the leader. The anthropologist then explains that human need ‘is founded upon two universal characteristics of human social behaviour’.