(Afri)Ethics, communitarianism and libertarianism

This article attempts to innovate an approach to ethics that treats radical justice as the raison d'être of ethical journalism. Radical justice concerns not just the treatment of the means of collecting and distribution of information but how this is accountable to the realization of the 'talents' of people. The approach offered holds governments accountable by proposing a form of public sphere in which 'communicative action' allows the maturation of the voice of the citizenry and which is anti-essentialist and audience centred. Communicative action deals with moral imperatives and the creation of freedom in which radical justice is realized. African debates on the topic are critically examined in relation to European discussions, and the idea of a specific Afriethics is critiqued, as are the concepts of ubuntu (communalism), communitarianism and African values.