Poverty in South Africa: Past and Present

by Colin Bundy

Along with inequality and unemployment, poverty is seen as South Africa’s biggest challenge with over half of South Africans living below the national poverty line. When South Africa finally held its first democratic elections in 1994, the country had a much higher poverty rate than in other countries at a similar level of development. While the exclusion of the poor occurs in very many countries, in South Africa it has a distinctive extra dimension. Here, poverty has been profoundly racialized by law, social practice, and prejudice. This was the legacy of apartheid. Poverty, Politics & Policy in South Africa explains why poverty has persisted in South Africa. In the book, authors Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass demonstrate who has and who has not remained poor, how public policies both mitigated and reproduced poverty, and how and why these policies were adopted. Their analysis of the South African welfare state, labour market policies and the growth path of the South African economy challenges conventional accounts that focus only on ‘neoliberalism’. They argue instead that the ANC government’s policies have been social-democratic. The book shows how social-democratic policies both mitigate and reproduce poverty in countries like South Africa, reflecting the contradictory nature of social democracy in the global South.

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Oriol Castells Marín · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend! It truly helps understanding the complexity of South African society in a brief, concise way.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In post-Apartheid South Africa, affluence has been de-racialised - but poverty has remained stubbornly racialised."

I found the last two chapters to be the most interesting - I had to push through the first few chapters. It's a broad and complex topic to deal with in 150 pages and I admire how much was said, however I felt that, for a topic such as poverty, Bundy could have eased on the statistics and painted more of a picture of the problem or the reality of poverty.

I also felt that instead of dealing with the topic in a chronological and linear format, it could have been dealt with in themes or sectors, e.g. farming, mining, rural areas vs cities, etc. I think it would have made for a more enriching read.

It was interesting to learn about how the ANC has led South Africa to be an exceptional example of a social welfare state - but it was also interesting to hear about how that has negatively impacted South Africa: "Perversely, in many households it is the disabled, the sick and the elderly who generate income, and not the young men and women in the prime of their lives." The last chapter, while providing a grim reality of South Africa, inspired some hope by bringing forth the realisation that for poverty to be eradicated, systems have to change.

Some interesting things were said but I just felt like I was reading an economic report as opposed to a book dealing with poverty as a social issue as well.

[Davide Ros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il Sudafrica è un BRICS, membro del G20, ha un casotto di riserve minerarie che hanno fatto la sua fortuna (oro, diamanti e terre rare) ma è ancora un Paese in Via di Sviluppo. Detto in parole povere? Puoi passare nel giro di mezz'ora dallo stare in aree dove sembra di essere in Occidente a vedere baracche in lamiera a perdita d'occhio per chilometri e chilometri.

Colin traccia un percorso sulla povertà del paese partendo dalle antiche tribù locali, passando per il colonialismo olandese e inglese, l'indipendenza, l'apartheid e la rinascita, fino ad arrivare ai problemi e alle sfide che si trova ad affrontare oggi. L’Apartheid è solo la punta di un icerberg che si è formato decenni prima. Il libro fa il suo sporco lavoro facendo una descrizione multidimensionale su com’è cambiata la società e la povertà in SA nel corso del tempo.

Ho trovato risposte soddisfacenti a tutti i miei dubbi 😄

[Nicholas Woode-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book holds a good info, it is way too short. It only gives a brief taste of the topic at hand, while not exposing anything that revolutionary.

[Nicholas Woode-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful book, but way too short. Could benefit from more details.