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list price: $32.99
edition:eBook
also available: Paperback
category: History
published: Oct 2010
ISBN:9780889204911
publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press

The Rise and Fall of an African Utopia

A Wealthy Theocracy in Comparative Perspective

by Stanley Barrett

tagged: west, developing countries, economic conditions
Description

 

In 1947 a group of Yoruba-speaking fishermen who had been persecuted because of their religious beliefs founded their own community in order to worship in peace. Although located in an impoverished part of Nigeria, within a few years the village enjoyed remarkable economic success. This was partly because the fishermen held all goods in common, pooled the profits in the community treasury, and attempted to reduce the importance of the family and marriage. After about a generation the utopia began to fall apart. The early religious zeal faded, private enterprise replaced communalism, and the family became strong once more. In an attempt to explain the initial success and eventual decline of the utopia, the author compares it with neighbouring villages that embraced similar religious beliefs but did not enjoy the same economic success. He sets the problem firmly in a broad comparative framework and draws the implications for theories of development, especially Weber’s Protestant ethic thesis.

About the Author

Stanley Barrett

Contact WLU Press for information about this author.

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