Doctrines of ‘Change’ in South Africa

Abstract

A key dimension to the prospect of South Africa surviving in its present form is the degree to which the dominant white political elite is able to make a qualitative conceptual leap away from the hegemonic ideology of racial segregationism. The government's 'reform' policies are seen by its supporters as constituting just such a leap, while most opponents claim that they simply disguise the perpetuation of white political supremacy. This chapter begins by looking at the historical evolution of segregationism since Union, showing the remarkably adaptive manner in which it evolved through the period of South Africa's industrialization. Then it examines the rise of Afrikaner nationalism and the ideology of apartheid as one very systematized variant of segregationism. This use of historical analysis shows that more recent debates on political 'change', especially discussion of consociationalism, simply adapt segregationism to new political and economic conditions. The South African ruling elite still has to make a major imaginative leap politically before it can begin to confront an alternative model of South African society. Notes, ref.