ABSTRACT
In line with Max Weber's binary categorization of societies, the modernization paradigm stated that non-Western societies could only attain modernity if they acquire the instrumental rationality of Western societies. The Western based, particularly North American Africanists, adopted this Weberian binary division of societies, in this case, the existence of two realms: the private realm and the public realm, in their analyses of Africa's development crisis. Perhaps Richard Joseph's prebendal theory more clearly illustrates the essence and limitations of this Weberian and modernist perspective. The kernel of their argument is that while moral principles were applied to the private realm, the public realm was considered as immoral and therefore subjected to the irrational practices of exploitation and corruption. The postcolonial African state is a product of colonialism. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts disscussed in this book.
