South Africa’s post-apartheid transition has proven disastrous. But what caused this unfortunate trajectory?
Today, the country is marked by the emergence of a black elite of enriched capitalists who have benefitted from the globalization, neoliberalization and financialization of the economy in general, and from 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 trajectory was initiated, with some suggesting a lack of available alternative policy options at the time of transition. The Political Economy of South Africa’s Post-apartheid Transition shows this to be false. In fact, a full range of progressive alternatives were rejected, leading to corresponding consequences from “state capture” to electoral defeat.
Publication date: July 1, 2026
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