The rise and fall of a social democratic economic and social policy alternative in the ANC (1990–1996)

ABSTRACT

This article re-examines existing interpretations of the ANC's economic and social policy choices during the negotiations that led to South Africa's democracy. The divergence but also convergence crucially in economic policy thinking of key policy actors within the ANC and the National Party (NP) led apartheid regime is contrasted. The National Party's economic policy agenda is discussed with attention to its key ‘technocratic’ policy actors and how they influentially negotiated neo-liberal policy positions with the ANC. The economic and social policies of the ANC must be seen in contrast as part of a series of attempts historically at advocating social democratic oriented policies. The ANC leadership however marginalised and abandoned these ideas and policies in a social democratic vein in the consensus seeking transition era. The paper tries to explain these shifts and to come to grips with the complexity of the actors, history and politics of ANC policy thinking in the transition era.

KEYWORDS:

• South Africa
• post-apartheid
• neo-liberalism
• economic policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For more on the use of the term ‘National Capitalism’ see Hart and Padayachee (2013, 55–85).

2 Specifically, these were including Andre Roux (DBSA, co-ordinator); Iraj Abdeian, Brian Kahn, and David Lewis (UCT); Andrew Donaldson (Treasury); Ben Smit (Stellenbosch); Daleen Smal and Ernie van der Merwe (SARB); Alan Hirsch (DTI), Guy Mhone (Labour); Ian Goldin and Dirk van Seventer (DBSA); Stephen Gelb (UDW), and Moss Ngoasheng (Office of the Deputy President).

3 These various interpretations of why an alternative such as MERG was dumped and the shift to neo-liberal capitalism made are fully explored in our book Shadow of Liberation (2019).

4 These views are fully expounded in our book Shadows of Liberation (2019) and synoptically summarised here.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert van Niekerk

Robert van Niekerk is Professor and Chair of Public Governance at the Wits School of Governance , University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Vishnu Padayachee

Vishnu Padayachee is Distinguished Professor and Derek Schrier and Cecily Cameron Chair in Development Economics at the School of Economics and Finance at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.