An Examination of Ideology: Julius K. Nyerere and the Tanzanian Example

Anthropologists no longer view ideology as well integrated systems of ideas that reflect social reality. Instead, anthropologists have become aware that ideological systems contain contradictions and, therefore, can be best understood as a system of principals with which only attempts are made to regulate social life. Because of this the search for social determinants of ideology has largely been abandoned. Consequently social scientists, such as Geertz (1973), suggest that we study ideologies as socializing agents and analyze their symbolic content. Making use of Geertz' concepts I studied data from Tanzania and found that ideology used by Nyerere, Ujamaa, has been ineffective as a socializing agent, resulting in the use of repressive techniques to effect economic changes. This finding challenges the notion that ideologies necessarily function as effective socializing agents during times of social change