African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (Jan 2011)
Dualism and the social formation of South Africa
Abstract
The idea that South African society is characterized by dual socio-economic structures is once more gaining ascendancy. Its key advocates include the former President of the Republic of South Africa – Thabo Mbeki – and the majority of members of the ANC-dominated judiciary, legislative and executive assemblies. The dualist interpretation is presented as a „correct‟ way of understanding reality in South Africa and problems that beset it. In general there is indeed an irresistible temptation to adopt dualist propositions as they appear to be self-evidently true. But a critical interrogation of dualist interpretations reveals that in essence there is more to reality than what meets the eye. The article makes a number of arguments: Firstly, dualist interpretations of social reality are hardly novel. English literature has ample cases of thinking influenced by dualism. Secondly, a look at the application of the dualist approach to South Africa‟s economy shows that the dual economy thesis informs the equally quixotic notion that South Africa is a country of two separate nations. Lastly, inconsistencies and weaknesses of dualist interpretations of the social formation in South Africa lead to a suggestion that the concept of the articulation of modes of production is an appropriate instrument to best analyze and understand the socio-economic processes in the country.
