Esnay ReviewPersistence and Change in South African SocietyC. M. BrandDepartment of Sociology, University of RhodesiaThere are few oustanding macroscopicanalyses of South African society. In this kindof endeavour historians and economists have,until recently, fared decidedly better thansociologists and political scientists. The firstsignificant generation of writings in the lattercategories which appeared during the latefifties and first half of the sixties from the penof scholars like Gwendolyn Carter, Leo Kuper,and Pierre van den Berghe, consequently had aconsiderable impact. They essentially pro-pounded variants of the 'powder-keg theory'in common with partisans like Bunting, theLegums and much other popular writing at thetime. There was conflict, conflict everywhereand it was difficult to conceive how the apar-theid state could avoid coming to a sudden,ignominous, and violent end, sooner ratherthan later. They were writing, of course, inthe shadow of the passive resistance campaigns,the treason trials, Sharpeville and the 'Windsof Change' from the North. Now, ten or moreyears later, South Africa can look back onthe period of greatest prosperity it has everknown and seems considerably more secure des-pite intensified international pressures. It is notsurprising, therefore, that a new generation ofliterature should have appeared to accountprecisely for this fact. Much has happenedelsewhere, too, which has affected assessmentsof the South African situation. America wit-nessed the rise of black power and minorseparatist movements, other Western countrieslike Britain had the first experience of majorracial tension at home, and the creation ofstable and economically viable states in inde-pendent Africa turned out to be much moredifficult than optimistic Western observers hadfirst believed. In South Africa there has, ofcourse, also been Chief Gatsha Buthelezi Šsymbol of a new breed of astute black leaderswho are ready to exploit apartheid to their ownand their voiceless constituents' advantage.The books dealt with in this review, withthe partial exception of Kinloch's, are repre-sentative of the search for a fresh understandingof South African society. While the answersoffered now differ in important respects fromthose propounded by the earlier writers, thequestions remain the same. These are, firstly,what in the last analysis holds together thisdivided society; and, secondly, how is it mostlikely to change in the future? Together theyconstitute the fundamental questions of struc-ture and dynamics. Significant change seemslikely to result from a combination of internaland external forces. These books, however, dealchiefly with the internal dimension and thisessay review restricts itself to this perspective.It may be as well to start with a light-weight, Kinloch's Sociological Study of SouthAfrica* Readers should not be misled by thejargon, the complex diagrams, and the heavy-* G. C. Kinloch, The Sociological Study of SouthAfrica: An Introduction, London, Macmillan, 1972,180 pp. £5,00.75weight price of his volume. It is designed as atext for introductory courses, the first of itskind in English for South Africa to my know-ledge (S. P. Cilliers and D. D. Joubert broughtout an Afrikaans text in 1966 under the titleSosiologie : 'n Sistematiese Inleiding, Stellen-bosch, Kosmo). Hence it is so much the moreregrettable that it is unlikely to serve this pur-pose well. It contains a limited amount of use-ful statistical and other factual informationwhich is, however, likely to be soon out ofdate. While it is essential to introduce beginningstudents to the basic concepts of sociology,Kinloch approaches this task in a formalisticfashion which is bound to excite little intereston their part. The 'application' of these con-cepts to the South African situation contributessystem to his discussion, but little insight.Sometimes this results in equivocating andquestion-begging generalities of staggeringproportions. Consider the following: 'Whereaseach racial sub-group in the society to a certaindegree possesses its own set of norms, eachgroup to some extent overlaps with the other,not so much in normative content but in themain direction towards which their normspoint (i.e. rural-traditionalism or urban-modernism), at the same time being flexibleenough to operate within both systems withoutbreakdown of norms' (p. 13 8). Or the statementthat South African society is 'a racial hierarchywhich is structured both socially and cultur-ally' (p. 174).Kinloch views South Africa as a pluralsociety, which seems to mean little more tohim than that it is heterogenous and 'highlydifferentiated' while being held together by thecontrol of one section of the white elite. He,therefore, sees the white population as thechief source of both persistence and change.It is 'the Afrikaner-English power and cultural"duel" [which] is basic to an understanding ofthe social system' (p. 86). In short, the old'Boer en Brit' story. Non-whites only enterinto the picture 'negatively' [sic] as a threatnecessitating 'strict control' of franchisearrangements and access to economic opportu-nities. Although urbanisation and industrialisa-tion require minor adjustments, the powerequation both between Afrikaners and English-speakers, and between Whites, on the one hand,and Africans on the other, remains basicallystable. In the end it is Afrikaner nationalismwhich is 'the predominant element' (p. 98).Kinloch is clearly no admirer of apartheid, buthe sees no prospects for fundamental changeeither. His actual perspective appears muchcloser to that of the politically passive Englishspeaking commercial and professional classes,whose younger generation he had been teachingintroductory sociology at the University ofNatal from the drafts of this book. In thiscommonly held view mitigation of the harsheraspects of the regime and a peaceful evolutiontoward a more rational, progressive and justsociety, largely depends on whether the Afri-kaners undergo a change of heart or not.Blacks remain in the background as ill-definedand passive figures shrouded in an early-morning township smog.Heribert Adam's equally brief, but infinitelymore insightful Modernizing Racial Domina-tion* is well established by now. What van denBerghe's South Africa : A Study in RacialConflict (Middletown, Wesleyan UniversityPress, 1965) was in the sixties for Americanundergraduate courses on Southern Africa,Comparative Race Relations, or Politics inAfrica, Adam's book has already become inthe seventies. His commentary on currentinterpretations of South African societyabounds with acute insights which, althoughnot always original, frequently put existingknowledge in a new perspective. He is at hisbest when comparing the realities of the situa-tion with other National Socialist or Commu-nist variants of totalitarianism. He distinguishesapartheid as a form of 'settler colonialism*which is characterised by pragmatic oligarchicdomination. Instead of following the assump-tion that Whites, and Afrikaners in particular,are swayed principally by an outdated racialisticdogma, he sees them as people who are de-fending their economic privileges and politicalprerogatives in a rational and efficient manner.He therefore does not expect apartheid simplyto collapse under the weight of its inherentcontradictions. Its leaders are constantly makingadjustments to meet new challenges from withinand without through the implementation andrationalisation' of its policy of Separate De-velopment. In the context of a rapidly ex-panding economy these measures have largelysucceeded in deflecting the force of blackaspirations. But as Adam clearly indicates,* H. Adam, Modernizing Racial Domination,Berkeley, Univ. of California Press, 1971, 203 pp.U.S.$8,00.If y.V76-II *t *the process of differential incorporation hasonly succeeded thus far because of the con-straints imposed by the high degree of econo-mic interdependence and the massive impactof a sophisticated apparatus of coercion whichincludes a widely ramified intelligence network,advanced techniques of information controland a battery of repressive legislation operatingbehind a facade of technical impartiality.Yet the reader's mounting expectation inthe end lapses into disappointment since thepromise of this book remains in large measureunfulfilled. Adam skilfully disposes of a numberof popular and scholarly myths and towardthe end speculates tantalizingly on futuredevelopments, but stops short of plungingto the heart of this 'very strange society',as Allen Drury has called it. His notion ofa pragmatic racial oligarchy is never broughtinto clear focus and is illustrated rather thanexplicated. Adam's eclecticism leads him intoanalytical ambiguity and contradictions. Heclaims to take the political economy as thepoint of departure but fails to develop or applythis perspective consistently, such as when hereturns to the processes of 'deideologization'and the transformation of Afrikaner 'racialobsessions' (p. 159) in which their intellectualsare playing a leading role (pp. 176-7). Are thesesuperstructural epiphenomena or what? As aconsequence one is never fully clear what thedriving forces are behind this type of settlercolonialism and particularly how such forcesinteract. Adam, in fact, sometimes comes closeto crediting 'the system' with an uncanny fore-sight and almost immanent wisdom (the Afri-kaner's faith in the hand of God guiding hisdestiny?)! In reacting against the prophets ofdoom he undoubtedly tends to take too san-guine a view of the prospects as, for example,his premature comments on the success ofSouth Africa's 'outward' policy indicate.Where, then, is change likely to comefrom? Adam is appropriately modest about be-ing able to share the experience of the op-pressed groups in South Africa and focusesexplicitly on the role of the rulers. He findsit hard to conceive of a successful revolutionwithout the support of at least some Whitesand states that 'considering only internal fac-tors, the subjective starting point for a changeof the fossilized structure seems, therefore, tolie more in the developments and contradictionswithin the ruling group than in initiatives ofthe subordinates'. Yet, with characteristicequivocation he adds that 'the dialectic of bothfactors cannot be overlooked' (p. 115). 'Gradu-ally changing interest constellations' within thecountry or war from without, rather than re-volution, is likely to be the source of trans-formation of South African society. Adam doesin the end consider the role of the whitelegitimated Bantustan politicians in thesechanging interest constellations, even venturingthat 'it is this realm where gradual pressuresand changes are most likely to occur in theforeseeable future' (p. 165). This is the problemwith Adam: he touches somewhere along theway at every base, thereby covering himselfagainst criticism, but leaving one confused asto his own position. In one respect he isconsistent Š seeing all black challenges asbeing forced into compromise and accommoda-tion by the Whites' overwhelming determinationand power to keep the pace of change undercontrol. One might well ask whether this wouldprove to be the case in the long, or evenmedium term.A collection of papers* edited by HeribertAdam covers a wide range of contributions bysome of the better known scholars in the field,and from related disciplines such as psycho-logy (Mann and Danziger), politics (Matthews),economics (Doxey) and anthropology (Mayerand Hellmann). Two of the authors,Andreski and Ford, attempt to place SouthAfrica within a broad comparative con-text. Hardly any of the essays break newground, yet they lend empirical depth to themore customary generalised discussions ofSouth African society. Kogila Adam's modestaccount is, to my knowledge, the only available'inside' analysis of the tension-ridden 'tribalcolleges'. Fatirna Meer's trenchant discussion ofthe fate of African nationalism after the SecondWorld War adds valuable perspectives tohistorical surveys such as Carter's (in thisvolume) or Walshe's (elsewhere). Other contri-butions, notably those of Dickie-Clark on"Bantu Education', van den Berghe on thetypes of segregation, and Doxey on job re-servation, highlight the 'contradictions' whichcharacterise the 'system'. But none of them pre-dict its imminent collapse. Even van den Berghe* South Africa: Sociological Perspectives, London,Oxford Univ. Press, 1971, 340 pp. £3,50.77revises his earlier position somewhat by point-ing to the eufunctions of certain forms ofsegregation and economic discrimination. Ifthere is any overall tone to this collection, it isof a liberal lament Only the black journalist,Ngubane, is bold enough to intimate that in theend the White will only be in South Africa onthe African's terms. Although this volumelacks distinguished contributions, it will proveuseful, if for no other reason than that it isvirtually the only one to survey between twocovers such a range of important topics onSouth African society.The report of the Political Commission ofthe Study Project on Christianity in ApartheidSociety (SPRO-CAS, a joint project of theSouth African Council of Churches and theChristian Institute of Southern Africa),* is thelast of six similar reports to have beenpublished. The other commissions dealt witheconomics, education, law, the church, andsociety respectively. This particular publicationdiffers in several respects from the works re-viewed above. First, it represents the resultsof a joint effort which involved in the discus-sion stages, or as actual signatories to thefinal report, such notable figures as the lateLeo Marquard, Alan Paton, Professor EdgarBrookes and the Revd Beyers Naude. Thereport itself was, however, drafted principallyby younger academics, two of whom are poli-tical philosophers, or at least theorists, in thefirst instance. In spite of the inevitable differ-ences in style, a fairly successful integrationof the whole is nonetheless achieved. Second,by its very nature and purpose as well as thepredominant interests of its authors, the reportis normative as well as analytical. It is verymuch concerned with what would constitute'good government' Š a just, free, and parti-cipatory order Š in a deeply divided pluralsociety such as South Africa. The authors,therefore, not only clearly enunciate the basicethical principles which serve as their ownpoint of departure, but also subject variousideological-constitutional models, includingthat of Seperate Development, to seriousscrutiny. At the same time they seek to avoidpresenting yet another idealistic but sterileblueprint, and declare their intention in theIntroduction to 'take cognisance of the facts* South Africa's Political Alternatives, ed. P. Ran-dall, Johannesburg, SPRO-CAS, 1973, PublicationNo. 10, 252 pp. R2.00.of life as [they] found them' and to offer pro-posals which are 'practical and . . . stand atleast a reasonable chance of acceptance and im-plementation under prevailing conditions'.It would probably be easiest to criticise theirproposals, even though they are modestlypresented with many disclaimers. This I donot intend to do. I shall also largely ignore theprincipal normative thrust of the report, andrather focus on their interpretation of 'thefacts of life' as they perceive them in SouthAfrica.Let me say immediately that from a purelyanalytical viewpoint this is a substantial pieceof work and one of the most significant onSouth African politics to have appeared fromwithin the country. The central chapters inparticular are closely reasoned and thoroughto the point of requiring a certain disciplineon the part of the reader to sustain attention,the recognition of which appears to haveprompted the project leaders to also makeavailable an abbreviated 'layman's version' ofthe report under the title Towards an Open,Plural Society. Since few loose ends to theargument are allowed to remain, criticism ofthe analytical sections could most fruitfully bedirected at the basic assumptions and pers-pectives underlying them, rather than theirspecific empirical conclusions.The key point which is made repeatedly isthat South Africa is an unequal society heldtogether through the coercive power of thewhite oligarchy which seeks, like all rulinggroups, to govern the country primarily interms of its own interests. Few outsiders wouldfind this a startling discovery, but most whiteSouth African readers, to whom this report isevidently directed, might still need to be con-vinced of such a basic fact in the face of thehighly sophisticated 'moral' justifications ofapartheid which have been developed over theyears. Even amongst social scientists the in-fluence of cultural pluralist notions hasfrequently obscured the fact that group rela-tions in the deeply divided societies of thecolonial and modern post-colonial world areessentially power relations. This report goesto extraordinary, but necessary, lengths to ex-pose the pretensions of even the most idealistic'pluralist' approaches, demonstrating convinc-ingly for example, that the policy of home-land partitioning is s'mply 'a sophisticatedstrategy for continued white domination*78by relinquishing it 'in certain limted areaswhile seeking to maintain white dominationwhere it matters most' (pp. 117, 119). Theactual mechanisms of domination receivelittle attention, but few stones are left un-turned in picking apart the idea-structures,incidentally, not only of various local and'international' pluralist models, but also ofother democratic philosophies, such as liberal-constitutionalism, which have played an im-portant role in South Africa. An innovationis the brief examination of lesser known con-tinental types of government such as the 'con-sociational democracy' practised in Austria andthe Netherlands, or the 'corporate pluralism'of Norway, and the indication of the relevancethey might have for the South African situa-tion. The authors do not pursue the parallelsand differences in great detail, but it eventuallytranspires that these distant examples becomeimportant, though largely hidden, models forthe general direction of their recommendations,their specific form being dictated more by thecurrent political realities in South Africa as theysee them.Such recommendations must, of course, beclosely tied up with their assessment of themutability of the South African polity, and theparticular points at which the greatest leveragefor change exist. The overall picture whichthey draw is a pessimistic one of a formidablepolitical log-jam which is not likely to be easilyor abruptly broken by any force, whether blackconsciousness, revolution from within or with-out, or the dictates of a rapidly expandingeconomy. In their opinion 'the danger is notso much the imminence of a truly revolutionarysituation, but rather a further increase in theextent of coercive government' (p. 185). Changeis more likely to come about through a processof erosion of white power, or more precisely,as a result of significant concessions to thesubordinate groups at probable (unspecifiedbut containable) times of crisis in the future.The authors evidently assume the continuingcontrol, or at least effective 'braking power' onthe pace of change of a white-dominated parlia-ment for a long time to come. The most thatthey seem to predict (and hope for) in themedium term, is that important concessionsmight be 'extracted' from the white power-holders through a combination of tough bar-gaining on the part of black leaders, the logicand moral force of the Afrikaner's conscience,and the changing social, economic, and politicaldemands from within and without.As the report proceeds it quite deliberatelyshifts increasingly from analysis and prediction(of which there is little) to prescription. Thekey question of who is to implement or helpbring about the reforms which they advocatelargely remains unanswered, the 'how' beingleft more to the complex dynamic of impersonalsocial and political forces. On the one handthe authors, like Adam, seem to view Whitesin a determining role; on the other hand theydo not expect them to voluntarily demotethemselves to co-equal partners with the sub-ject groups. It is here that the apartheid createdinstitutions and leaders acquire special signific-ance. The report holds that certain aspects ofSeparate Development have gone so far as tobe practically irreversible. And given their con-clusions regarding the conflict generating poten-tial in a plural society of individually basedpolitical institutions modelled along liberal-constitutionalist lines, it does not come as asurprise when they come out in favour of amore flexible, open and 'voluntary' version ofthe pluralist model which they themselves havecriticised so severely: 'The new regional andcommunal authorities which have been createdso far . . . are to be seen ... as a rudimentarybeginning for a new common framework ofbargaining, consulting and mutual decision-making' (p. 201). It is within this context thatthe possible role of the Homeland leaders isanalysed with great perspicacity. Have theauthors done nothing else, one might suggestthat they have at least provided a useful strate-gic handbook for these very leaders!Given the Commission's pessimism aboutthe likelihood of significant change, they arestill remarkably sanguine about the possibilitiesfor a relatively smooth evolutionary transitionto a more open and just society, if and whenthis eventually comes about. Of course they domention the possibility of violence, but apartfrom declaring it undesirable, they have littlefurther to say on this score. Events during thetwo or three years since the report was firstdrafted have indeed vindicated their most im-portant conclusions, but that is no adequatetest yet. Whatever one feels about EdgarBrookes's touching liberal confession in hisshort dissenting note to the report, one mustagree with its implications that had, say, youngblack political scientists been involved in the79drafting of the report, it is likely to have lookedrather different even if they were not afflictedby the Utopian dreams inevitably generated byan oppressive situation. For the general driftof the report must make it reassuring readingfor most Whites, including critics of the currentregime.A coming generation of scholarly commenton South Africa, reacting to the writings of theearly seventies, will probably have to accountfor the fact that authors of this generation failedto predict the rise of powerful new black (andlikely sooner 'Coloured') social and politicalmovements. Such developments would not holda surprise for Peter Randall, the author ofthe final, coordinated SPRO-CAS report,* whenthey occur. Simply to take a copy of this book,physically mutilated by the excision of docu-ments in the Appendix and the blacking outof quotes from recently banned leaders ofSPRO-CAS' own Black Community Program-mes, 'cut to comply with the Suppression ofCommunism Act', as is noted in handwritingon the inside cover, is to be vividly remindedof the present nature of the South Africanpolitical system. In spite of the scrap bookappearance created by the reproduction ofposters and newspaper advertisements,Randall's forthright and unsparing resume ofthe harsh realities of 'the segregated, discrimina-tory, unequal and unjust society' in which SouthAfricans live 'from birth to death', would havea renewed impact also on those already wellacquainted with the situation. It is barely ahundred pages long, the rest of the volume be-ing taken up with details of the development ofSPRO-CAS, its participants, organisation andfunding, and documents relating to its variousprojects. Being based in large part on theother reports, there is not much originalmaterial in A Taste of Power, but the author'sinvolvement (in his capacity as Director ofSPRO-CAS) in the Black Community Pro-grammes, gives an edge to his account whichis largely lacking in the other reports.Randall's point of departure is clearly statedon the first page: 'Fundamental change . . .will be initiated by blacks, and ... the whiteoligarchy, which up to now has exercised avirtual monopoly of political and economicpower, will increasingly have to respond to* A Taste of Power, Johannesburg, SPRO-CAS,1973, Publication No. 11, 225 pp. R2,5O.black initiatives. We are in ... a new historicalphase in South Africa, in which the initiativefor change is passing into black hands' (p.6).Current liberalising trends among Whites and'accommodations' of the government to pres-sures concerning, for example, its sport andlabour policies are seen as 'essentially marginalchanges which do not fundamentally affect thebasic inequalities of the social system' (p.10).Even among Whites the growing polarisationbetween opponents and supporters of the regimeis indicative of the fact that the impetus forfundamental change is now more likely to comefrom extra-parliamentary sources. He predictsthat the intolerance of dissent and increasedhostility towards change-oriented activities willaccelerate the processes of polarisation and con-frontation. In fact, conilict and confronta-tion have become inevitable and will pre-cede any significant change. In keeping withthis approach, Randall pays more explicitattention than any of the other reports to therole of the emerging black consciousness andthe significance of organised black labour. Nowmore than a year after this report was pub-lished, the precise future of the black conscious-ness movement to which he refers is in somedoubt. Yet it is, certainly, a straw in the wind.Overall, a fairly clearly denned consensushas, then, been emerging in recent writing aboutSouth Africa. The conclusion that South Africais a society characterised by vast inequalitiesbetween the different racial castes which areheld together chiefly by the correspondinglyvast coercive machinery of the white dominatedstate, is now new. But few analysts of thesituation today are willing to predict that aviolent overthrow of this order is imminent.They tend to dwell on the extraordinary powerand adaptability of white power instead. Asa result we have a much better appreciation ofthe extent and effects of this power. A moredetailed documentation and analysis of howthis power actually operates 'from the inside'is, however, still lacking. Afrikaner academicsshould be the first to write about this, but untilnow they have not been very forthcoming.Another major point of emerging consensuslies in the re-evaluation of the impact of 'grandapartheid' Š the macro-processes of territor'aland institutional separation set in motion morethan twenty-five years ago by the NationalistGovernment. These policies are no longersimply decried as inhuman and unjust in their80consequences (which they most certainly are)or as irrational and doomed to failure. It isalso realised that they have already altered thestructure of South African society in funda-mental ways and are likely to have an import-ant bearing on whatever future developmentsoccur in the Republic. They are, therefore, anecessary point of departure for any programmeof change. Most authors now go further and seewithin these structures a (perhaps the) powerfullever for change. At the same time we have amuch better understanding of the 'contradic-tions' or points of tension within these develop-ments Š and to this the SPRQ-CAS Social andPolitical Commissions, in particular, have madeno mean contribution. The assumption thatWhites will continue to be able to control thepace of change is, however, difficult to accept.For will a coalition of black satellite powersand urban interests not play for the higheststakes of the effective control of the wholeSouth African state once it appears within theirgrasp? And will they not be willing to pay ahigh price for this? When this happens it willobviously be due not so much to the brutaloppression which they have suffered, but pre-cisely to the 'evolutionary' accommodationswhich had been forced on their white mastersby the complex forces now playing themselvesout within the country.One of the ironies of the South Africansituation is that books such as these are leastlikely to be read by those closest to power(excluding probably the censors and securityofficials!). Perhaps this should not be lamented,since it could only contribute further to thesophistication of their strategies of domination.JAN SMUTS AVENUE, JOHANNESBURG 2001PORTUGUESE IN SOUTH-EAST AFRICA 1600-1700by Eric Axelson(Publication of the Ernest Oppenheimer Institute of Portuguese Studiesof the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg),Repr. 1969. x, 226 pp. 12 pis 3 maps (1 fold). Cloth.Price R6,00.PORTUGAL AND THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA 1875-1891by Eric Axelson(Publication of the Ernest Oppenheimer Institute of Portuguese Studiesof the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).1967. ix, 318 pp. 14 pis, (incl. maps). Cloth.Price: R7,00.All correspondence should be addressed to:PUBLICATIONS OFFICER.81