The theoretical African mode of thinking about liberty seems to stand in contrast to the view of liberty that has dominated Western philosophy. Western philosophy accepts as its starting point the notion of an unconstrained and uncontextualized "I" that is defined in relation to the self and its inner being. Greek, Cartesian, and classical European philosophy evolved an "I/it" model in which human freedom becomes a tool for mastering the universe. The African mode emphasizes a more communal "I" that is always connected to and in relationship with others. The attitudes and practices of the Luba of Zaire illustrate the concept of an "I" that is a subjective consciousness, contingent upon others and upon a socially-defined space. For the Luba, the "I" is never defined by an autonomous self, but by a group of others, and the exercise of freedom is predetermined by this fact. In the West, the primacy of the "I/it" model has paralleled hierarchical social and political systems of exclusion and domination. In contrast, the traditional African conception involves an "I/with" or "I/we" model, and freedom involves freedom for the group and for the individual in relation to the group. These opposing perceptions of "I/it" and "I/we" are resolved to some degree in the work of Rousseau, Freud, Marx, and many feminist theorists. (FMW)