There can be no ‘neutral’ Schweitzer interpretation. Schweitzer’s thoughts changed over the years, as is the case with most human beings. He was too considered to make one-sided statements. Those that may, at first sight, seem so are qualified by context. He contextualised and balanced such statements with self-critique and an appeal to our conscience.African countries started to gain their independence in the 1960s.Political independence, however, does not necessarily mean economic, religious and cultural independence. It is not easy to explain the extent to which the African mind has been colonised and alienated from its ‘true’ self. The post-colonial challenge was the reinterpretation of identity, society and tradition. It took on the form of the refurbishment of indigenous knowledge systems essential to tradition and self-identification. Aid comes in packages that advertise a specific view of societies, individuals and the world. Globalism has to discriminate in reducing plurality to workable uniformity as it manifests in, for example, liberal market forces. But is any reduction of plurality to uniformity imperialist per se? The question is whether we should, conspiracy-wise, look for the imperialist protagonists behind all development and initiatives or whether we must consider such development as the way in which world culture is emerging.