Interrogating the idea of transformation in the resolution of Africa's economic and political crises : the possibilities and limits in the South Africa's situation

Abstract

In this essay the meaning and implications of the idea of transformation are investigated and interrogated. Equally important, to have a clear understanding of the idea of transformation as a socio-political and economic strategy aimed at redressing the complex consequences of a system that propagated injustice of the worst kind, the situation of South Africa is treated as a case study. Undeniably, South Africa’s apartheid system was intended to create and perpetuate a situation of racial division, racial oppression, human degradation and economic deprivation (Mbeki 1998: 41). In contrast, the post-1994 South Africa is a country in the process of fundamental change from an apartheid hierarchy of cultures, an authoritative and unjust society to a democratic society grounded in a patriotic national cultural identity.