In the newly independent Tanganyika of 1962, Julius Nyerere was faced with the task of moving his nation's agriculture into the 20th century. His answer was 'African Socialism' and a command economy. The five-year plans of the 60s and 70s, with their 'macro' approach, controls from above, failures and partial successes, are the subjects of this work. Positing humanism and capitalism as the routes to democracy and progress, the author rebuts the flirtation with collectivism that has tainted so many African economies, and offers statistics and tables to support his case.