Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108927
- eISBN:
- 9780300128758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108927.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter explores the nature of South African society at the onset of the apartheid era and discusses the ways social and economic changes were affecting inequalities. It focuses on the relation ...
More
This chapter explores the nature of South African society at the onset of the apartheid era and discusses the ways social and economic changes were affecting inequalities. It focuses on the relation between class structure and income distribution during this period. With regard to income distribution, society is divided into three classes: rich white households occupying the higher position, coloured and Indian people in the middle and African people at the bottom. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the apartheid distributional regime that the National Party government inherited in 1948.Less
This chapter explores the nature of South African society at the onset of the apartheid era and discusses the ways social and economic changes were affecting inequalities. It focuses on the relation between class structure and income distribution during this period. With regard to income distribution, society is divided into three classes: rich white households occupying the higher position, coloured and Indian people in the middle and African people at the bottom. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the apartheid distributional regime that the National Party government inherited in 1948.
Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108927
- eISBN:
- 9780300128758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108927.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter explores the transformation of the South African society during the four decades of apartheid, focusing on the processes of class formation and the changing patterns of income ...
More
This chapter explores the transformation of the South African society during the four decades of apartheid, focusing on the processes of class formation and the changing patterns of income inequality. One process of social change is deagrarianisation, which transformed South Africa into a society that was unusually dependent on wage labour. Between 1950 and 1975, the overall distribution of incomes displayed elements of both continuity and change. By 1975, there were clear indications of a growing differentiation within the African population, but race still remained a key factor in inequality. The chapter concludes with alternative trajectories that South Africa might have followed: the route of land reform and the route of uncontrolled urbanisation.Less
This chapter explores the transformation of the South African society during the four decades of apartheid, focusing on the processes of class formation and the changing patterns of income inequality. One process of social change is deagrarianisation, which transformed South Africa into a society that was unusually dependent on wage labour. Between 1950 and 1975, the overall distribution of incomes displayed elements of both continuity and change. By 1975, there were clear indications of a growing differentiation within the African population, but race still remained a key factor in inequality. The chapter concludes with alternative trajectories that South Africa might have followed: the route of land reform and the route of uncontrolled urbanisation.
Emily Margaretten
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039607
- eISBN:
- 9780252097690
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039607.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
An exemplary ethnography of post-apartheid life: this book takes the reader to a place that few people know even exists—a self-run shelter for homeless young people in Durban. What emerges is a ...
More
An exemplary ethnography of post-apartheid life: this book takes the reader to a place that few people know even exists—a self-run shelter for homeless young people in Durban. What emerges is a searing portrait of drugs, violence, and AIDS but also of compassion, love, loyalty, and humanity. Point Place (a self-run homeless shelter for the young homeless) stands near the city center of Durban, South Africa. Condemned and off the grid, the five-story apartment building is home to a hundred-plus teenagers and young adults marginalized by poverty and chronic unemployment. This book draws on ten years of up-close fieldwork to explore the distinct cultural universe of the Point Place community. The investigations reveal how young men and women draw on customary notions of respect and support to forge an ethos of connection and care that allows them to live far richer lives than ordinarily assumed. The book's discussion of gender dynamics highlights terms like nakana—to care about or take notice of another—that young women and men use to construct “outside” and “inside” boyfriends and girlfriends and to communicate notions of trust. The book exposes the structures of inequality at a local, regional, and global level that contribute to socioeconomic and political dislocation. But it also challenges the idea that Point Place's marginalized residents need “rehabilitation.” As the book argues, these young men and women want love, secure homes, and the means to provide for their dependents—in short, the same hopes and aspirations mirrored across South African society.Less
An exemplary ethnography of post-apartheid life: this book takes the reader to a place that few people know even exists—a self-run shelter for homeless young people in Durban. What emerges is a searing portrait of drugs, violence, and AIDS but also of compassion, love, loyalty, and humanity. Point Place (a self-run homeless shelter for the young homeless) stands near the city center of Durban, South Africa. Condemned and off the grid, the five-story apartment building is home to a hundred-plus teenagers and young adults marginalized by poverty and chronic unemployment. This book draws on ten years of up-close fieldwork to explore the distinct cultural universe of the Point Place community. The investigations reveal how young men and women draw on customary notions of respect and support to forge an ethos of connection and care that allows them to live far richer lives than ordinarily assumed. The book's discussion of gender dynamics highlights terms like nakana—to care about or take notice of another—that young women and men use to construct “outside” and “inside” boyfriends and girlfriends and to communicate notions of trust. The book exposes the structures of inequality at a local, regional, and global level that contribute to socioeconomic and political dislocation. But it also challenges the idea that Point Place's marginalized residents need “rehabilitation.” As the book argues, these young men and women want love, secure homes, and the means to provide for their dependents—in short, the same hopes and aspirations mirrored across South African society.
