The Political Economy of South Africa’s Post-apartheid Transition

The Rejection of Alternatives to Neoliberalism. Critical Reconstructions of Political Economy, Volume 7

Series: 

Author:
Ben Fine
South Africa’s post-apartheid transition has proven disastrous. It is marked by the emergence of a black elite of enriched capitalists out of the globalisation, neoliberalisation and financialisation of the economy in general and of its Minerals-Energy and Financial Complex in particular. By contrast, inequalities, poverty and failing social provision have persisted. Recent attention has shifted to how this disastrous trajectory was initiated, some suggesting a lack of available alternative policy options at the time of transition. This is shown to be false with a full range of progressive alternatives being rejected with corresponding consequences, from “state capture” to electoral defeat.
Copyright Year:
2025
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ISBN:
978-90-04-73165-3
Publication:
26 May 2025
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ISBN:
978-90-04-73164-6
Publication:
12 Jun 2025
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Ben Fine, Ph.D. (1974), London School of Economics, is Emeritus Professor of Economics at SOAS University of and Visiting Professor at Wits School of Governance, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. His most recent books include Material Cultures of Financialisation, co-edited with Kate Bayliss and Mary Robertson (Routledge, 2018); Race, Class and the Post-Apartheid Democratic State, co-edited with John Reynolds and Robert van Niekerk (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2019); and A Guide to the Systems of Provision Approach: Who Gets What, How and Why, with Kate Bayliss (Palgrave, 2021). His Marx’s ‘Capital’ (Pluto, 2016) is now in its sixth edition (with co-author Alfredo Saad-Filho). He was founding Chair of the International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy (iippe.org) until June 2023.
Contents
Preface

1 How South Africa Rejected Political Economy and Progressive Policy: A Personal Journey
 1 Introduction
 2 From MERG …
 3 … through Labour Market Commission …
 4 … to NIEP/COSATU and Beyond

2 ESOP’s Fable: Golden Egg or Sour Grapes?
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 1 ESOPs and Apartheid
 2 Conceptual Issues
 3 The Record of ESOP Performance
 4 Trade Union Responses
 5 Current Implications for South Africa
 Appendix 1: Summary from EROSA (1989)
 Appendix 2: Summary from EROSA (1990)

3 Defence Expenditure and the Post-apartheid Economy: A Briefing Paper for the ANC
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations
 1 Military Expenditure and Economic Development
 2 Is South Africa a Military-Industrial Complex?
 3 South Africa’s Economic Impasse
 4 South African Military Expenditure – Any Advantages?
 5 The Overwhelming Disadvantages
 6 From War on the People to the War Effort to Provide Basic Needs
 7 Conversion at the Macro Level
 8 Conversion at the Micro Level

4 Privatisation and the RDP: A Critical Assessment
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 1 Introduction
 2 Some Theoretical Considerations
 3 Privatisation and the Demise of Apartheid
 4 What Were the Proposals?
 5 First Time – Farce; Second Time – Tragedy
 6 Privatisation Is Not Reconstruction
 7 Concluding Remarks

5 From Equal Pay and Minimum Wages through Public Works to Income Support
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 1 Propositions Concerning Comparable Worth: Summary
 2 Some Notes on Job Creation Programmes
 3 Some Rough Notes on Income Maintenance Programmes (IMPs)

6 Industrial Policy and South Africa: A Strategic View
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 Presentation of Main Points
 1 Introduction
 2 Defining Industrial Policy
 3 Industrial Strategy
 4 Implementation and Monitoring
 5 The Macroeconomic Environment
 6 Trade Policy

7 Vertical Relations in the South African Steel Industry
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 Presentation of Main Points and Policy Recommendations
 1 Introduction
 2 The Economic Theory of Dumping
 3 The Political Economy of Dumping
 4 Legal and Administrative Considerations
 5 The Imperatives of Coordination
 6 The Structures and Dynamics of the World Steel Industry
 7 South African Steel in Transition
 8 Private and Public Interests in the South African Steel Industry
 9 Conclusions and Policy Recommendations

8 Privatisation and the Restructuring of State Assets in South Africa: A Strategic View
 Postscript as Personal Preamble
 Presentation of Main Points
 1 Introduction
 2 New Public Sector Economics for Old
 3 Origins and Patterns of Privatisation: The African Context
 4 Addressing the World Bank
 5 Implications for South Africa
References
Index
This book is for all those interested in political economy and developmental prospects in general, but especially those interested in apartheid, post-apartheid and the transition between the two.
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