MODULE 4: The politics of class formation

READINGS:

  1. Heribert Adam, Frederick van Zyl Slabbert and Kogila Moodley (1997), ‘Where is the struggle now?’ in Comrades in Business: Post-Liberation Politics in South Africa (Cape Town: Tafelberg)
  2. Thabo Mbeki (1999), ‘Address by President Thabo Mbeki at the SA-USA Business and Finance Forum’, Roosevelt Hotel, New York, 23 September
  3. Dale T. McKinley (2001), ‘A South African ‘Third Way’ for Labour? Illusions and Realities’, South African Labour Bulletin (April)
  4. Dale T. McKinley (2011), ‘Capitalism with a Black Face: BEE and the ANC’, Presentation to ILRIG Conference on: South Africa Today – How do we characterise the Social Formation? Cape Town (29 April)

KEY QUESTIONS:

  1. Who are your moral/ethical role models in South Africa today? Explain your choices.
  2. How should a country like South Africa go about creating jobs (and what kind of jobs) that do not rely on capitalists?
  3. Do you think a consensus can and should be reached between labour (workers) and capital (the bosses) on the way forward for South Africa? Explain your answer.
  4. Do you feel as though class is a more significant issue than race in present-day South Africa? Make an argument either way.
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