Reproduction and convertibility: examining wealth inequalities in South Africa

Abstract

Inspired by Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of capital convertibility, this article investigates why wealth inequalities in South Africa under the African National Congress have remained so persistently stubborn and how it is possible that the revolutionary movement, ostensibly devoted to the ideals of the Freedom Charter, has not managed to radically improve matters 25 years after the fall of apartheid. Based on a series of interviews conducted with South African academics and members of civil society, the article seeks to provide some answers to this conundrum by tracing the roots of the problem to reproduction mechanisms that are deeply entrenched in the economy of South Africa, its politics and its educational system.