The Politics of Zombification: A Philosophical Meditation on Africa and Beyond in the Era of De-Intellectualization of Politics

The Politics of Zombification diagnoses an era of politics defined by populism, post-truth, and the loss of independent critical thought. Willy Moka-Mubelo uses the metaphor of "zombification" to describe regimes that discourage independent reasoning and promote blind obedience and public ignorance for the purpose of power. Drawing on examples from African and around the world, Moka-Mubelo shows how the rise of "zombification" leads to the end of freedom and self-determination as we know it. More philosophically, it creates what Immanuel Kant calls the state of immaturity, or the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another. Defenders of such a politics replace moral norms with their own narcissistic or self-enriching interpretations of those norms, while citizens no longer fight for shared values and principles, but for individuals. Moka-Mubelo shows how we might recenter politics around democracy, human dignity, truth, justice, and the common good. It is of interest to students, researchers, and the informed public interested in contemporary political theory, moral philosophy, comparative politics, and political science.