Know thy Systemic Enemies: Mechanisms that Prevent Transformation

ABSTRACT

Despite the hopes and political promises of the 1990s that socio-economic transformation would occur in South Africa, the country continues to be plagued by high levels of poverty and inequality. The question of why this transformation deficit exists arises, often with debate surrounding answers where forms of binary logic are foregrounded, for example, coloniality/decoloniality and Eurocentrism/Afrocentrism, among others. I depart from binaries-based approaches and instead focus on analyses revealing mechanisms that prevent transformation. These mechanisms are evident in Mill’s analysis of the development of democracy, Marcuse’s critique of advanced industrial society, Deleuze’s commentary on disciplinary and control societies, and Princen’s descriptions of traffic control measures. Outlines of these analyses are offered in the spirit of ‘knowing the enemy’ that is a mix of structural mechanisms, identifiable without over-reliance on binary relationships, oppositions and tensions. Oppositions and tensions of this binary nature have been prominent in transformation rhetoric in South Africa, but the country’s transformation deficit indicates that a new language (Wallerstein, Princen) might still be helpful in dealing with various conceptual and practical challenges. Adopting a manner of expression less inclined towards emphasis on binaries may be a step in the direction of the new language.

Acknowledgements

This work is based on the research supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 99188, SARChI Chair in Identities and Social Cohesion in Africa, Nelson Mandela University). Opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this work are those of the author’s alone and the NRF accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard. The author also acknowledges the financial support received from the NRF, as well as the University of the Free State, during his doctoral studies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

David Pittaway http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2342-0721

Notes

1 Malema's comment seems mild considering more extreme racial stances in South African politics, such as the Black First Land First Party's attitude echoed in party members’ chants of ‘one settler, one bullet’ (and variations thereof). That said, in 2011 Malema himself sang ‘awudubhule ibhunu’ or ‘shoot the Boer’ while mimicking holding a machine gun, which would thereafter be explained away as a reference to armed struggle.