Reproduction and convertibility: examining wealth inequalities in South Africa

Abstract

Inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's notion of capital convertibility, this article investigates why wealth inequalities in South Africa under the African National Congress have remained so persistently stubborn and how it is possible that the revolutionary movement, ostensibly devoted to the ideals of the Freedom Charter, has not managed to radically improve matters 25 years after the fall of apartheid. Based on a series of interviews conducted with South African academics and members of civil society, the article seeks to provide some answers to this conundrum by tracing the roots of the problem to reproduction mechanisms that are deeply entrenched in the economy of South Africa, its politics and its educational system.

The changing work landscape as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic: insights from remote workers life situations in South Africa

“…Whereas, from the international perspective, the World Bank in their recent study suggests that to break out of the circle of high inequality, there is a necessity to provide poor South Africans with good jobs (The World Bank, 2018). Though this article resonates with the points raised by Polus et al (2020) and The World Bank (2018) to a large extent, the article argues that access to good jobs alone will not solve the issue of inequality, without also addressing the issue of equal access to services and infrastructure. Without addressing the latter, there will always be a divide in terms of social structures that may favour a specific cohort of the population and disadvantage others.…”

“…The national development policy, namely the National Development Plan to 2030, is similarly concerned with the current high rate of inequality that exists in society in South Africa (National Planning Commission, 2011). Polus et al (2020) in their study found that unequal access to wealth has a direct impact on access to what schooling system individuals can afford, for example, and therefore, prevents the majority of the population from acquiring the knowledge and skills needed by the labour market. Whereas, from the international perspective, the World Bank in their recent study suggests that to break out of the circle of high inequality, there is a necessity to provide poor South Africans with good jobs (The World Bank, 2018).…”

“…For all citizens to benefit from the interplay with social structures, there is a necessity to ensure that everyone (if not most) has access to enabling infrastructure. Regrettably, South Africa remains saddled with a high rate of inequality as noted both locally and internationally (Polus et al , 2020; The World Bank, 2018; National Planning Commission, 2011). The national development policy, namely the National Development Plan to 2030, is similarly concerned with the current high rate of inequality that exists in society in South Africa (National Planning Commission, 2011).…”

Development studies meet Pierre Bourdieu: the case of Chinese Private FDI in Zambia

“…2018; Polus et al . 2020), while it is established practice to utilise a number of Bourdieuan concepts as part of a ‘thinking toolkit’ in international relations (Leander 2011). Moreover, we believe that, through increasing the reflexivity of both authors and readers, Bourdieu's ideas can help in understanding non-European contexts, shedding light on how a given constellation of relations (re)produces certain practices (Wacquant 2018: 3).…”

The relationship between health poverty and income poverty in Sub-Saharan African countries: evidence from index correlations

“…Recently the issue of inequality has garnered attention within academic debates about the state of the world (Polus et al 2021). While research on inequalities has traditionally focused on the income aspect of welfare, there is growing interest in exploring the health aspect as well (Allison and Foster 2004;Brzezinski 2015;Madden 2015;Simões et al 2016;Pascual-Sáez et al 2019;Clarke and Erreygers 2020).…”