The Possible Infusion of Ubuntu and Paideia Values into Neoliberal Tendencies in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Since the 17th century, life in general—and in particular with respect to the management/administration of higher education institutions (HEIs)—has been dominated by neoliberal tendencies. Stated another way, neoliberalism is the tendency to view everything in capitalist terms and to see all institutions as businesses, including those that in principle have no connections with trade and industry. Due to this orientation, colleges and universities have become corporatized and the people working in them (administrators, professors, and students) have been reduced to homo economicus. This inclination has been widely criticized by those who perceive that they have been dehumanized by such conditions. This article examines the possible infusion of values associated with the age-old paideia ideal and of the sub-Saharan African ubuntu philosophy, despite them having shortcomings of their own, into the neoliberal approach as a possible means of finding greater balance and humanization in the midst of increased institutional pressures and complexities. The paideia ideal attaches greater value to the well-roundedness of the human being than does neoliberalism, and the ubuntu philosophy could contribute toward toning down the current neoliberal individualism in higher education institutions. Although some of the features and values of neoliberalism should be retained in HEI life and management, they ideally could be made less forceful by an infusion of the values associated with philosophies such as paideia and ubuntu.