Global Inequality South Africa Is Thesis

The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 continued the government's social engineering projects. Black Africans were assigned to "homeland" states, independent regions with artificially created governments ("The History of Apartheid in South Africa"). The South African parliament officially ruled the homeland states, but residents of those areas were denationalized under the Bantu Authorities Act ("The History of Apartheid in South Africa"). Between 1976 and 1981, the government of South Africa denationalized nine million Africans by deporting them into the homeland zones ("The History of Apartheid in South Africa"). Denationalization officially stripped black Africans of their legal and political rights and made it almost impossible to create change.

Bombings, poisonings, and beatings were some of tactics sanctioned by the government to enforce apartheid. The government cracked down on protests by invoking a state of emergency to quell crime, authorized under the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act ("The History of Apartheid in South Africa"). In addition to torture and execution, the South African government also imprisoned political activists like Nelson Mandela. Social and political activists who opposed apartheid were therefore driven underground until the early 1990s. The first open elections in 1994 marked the end of apartheid, which defined South Africa for most of the twentieth century. Even after the end of apartheid, racial tensions remain high. A long system of white privilege created a major imbalance of power.

Therefore, the second most important social inequality in South Africa is linked to apartheid: economic inequality. Black Africans had been an officially designated underclass since the dawn of colonialism. Generations of black Africans were bereft of land, access to natural resources, or the means to participate in capitalist enterprise. Generations of black Africans were denied access to education, which effectively hinders upward social mobility even after the downfall of apartheid. Poverty and unemployment are high in South Africa, largely because of the social unrest caused by the aftermath of apartheid (BBC 2009).

Because of apartheid, most of South Africa's lands are still owned by whites and so the government is attempting to implement fair land use programs and land redistribution programs (BBC 2009). The government aims to have 30% of all farmland transferred to black ownership by 2014 (BBC 2009). Even so, economic disparity contributes to social tensions and high rates of crime in South Africa. Moreover, the nation contends with an expensive health care crisis with an alarmingly high rate of HIV / AIDS. State-funded programs to help the poor, those struggling with AIDS, and those still suffering from the reverberations of apartheid have been moderately successful.

Even though race is no longer the determining factor regarding access to political power, years of apartheid has created an unstable situation in South Africa. The government of South Africa and the African National Congress (ANC) has recently experienced unrest (CIA 2009). Social inequalities in South Africa can be traced to colonialism. Colonialism planted the roots of apartheid by creating a privileged white upper class, which controlled land use and natural resources. The descendents of the original colonial powers used military force to enforce a racist regime. Establishing a system of apartheid solidified racial inequality in South Africa. Colonialism has left a tumultuous legacy of social injustice in South Africa.

References

Ashall, V. & Hillier, M. (2007). Social inequality in South Africa. Retrieved Apr 1, 2009 from http://student.bmj.com/issues/07/07/life/281.php

BBC (2009). Country profile: South Africa. BBC News. Retrieved Apr 1, 2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1071886.stm

CIA (2009). "South Africa." CIA World Factbook. Retrieved Apr 1, 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html

"The History of…