The social question in South Africa: From settler colonialism to neoliberal-era democracy

The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies will host Dr Ben Scully to present this seminar.

This talk draws on a chapter in a forthcoming volume on The Global Social Question. The chapter presents a history of the "social question" in South Africa, from the late-19th century to the present. The talk will focus on the post-Apartheid period. This is a period in which the dominance of neoliberal ideology has contradicted with a political and ideological imperative to expand access to social welfare for the previously excluded black majority, leading to a new, neoliberal-era response to the social question. While state-provided social protection has become increasingly important, gaps in the state's response, combined with failures in the labour market, have put pressure on households and other social connections, which highlight the continued relevance of the social question today.

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