The Politcal Economy of Race and Class in South Africa

"Race" and "racism" are the common focus of discussion in much of the sociological literature on South Africa. But in the overwhelming majority of these studies both concepts are treated as static, unrelated to the socioeconomic [?] which they develop. [?] a different approach, Bernard Magubane shows how race and racism in South Africa emerged historically, and how they were inextricably connected to the rise of capitalism and imperialism. since racism is thus inseparable from capitalist economic development, he argues, the struggle against it cannot succeed except as part of the anticapitalist class struggle. Beginning his analysis with the Dutch occupation of the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, Magubane outlines the military and political subjugation of the indigenous Africans, their progressive displacement from the land, and their forced incorporation into the labor force, first in agriculture and then in mining. Within this context, Magubane discusses in detail the deliberate cultivation of "racism," both by the British colonial government and the Afrikaner-controlled government that followed it. The book proceeds to analyze the development of the "native reserves" and the migrant labor system as necessary for the profitability of the capitalist sector, and describes the process by which precapitalist modes of production were reoriented towards capitalist ends. Apartheid is thus seen primarily as an attempt to restructure the distribution of the African labor force in order to exploit it more effectively. This process creates contradictions, however, and Magubane deals with the conflicts that have developed between the needs of the agricultural and mining industries, as well as between sectors of the white population. He analyzes the role of the state in furthering and maintaining the Afrikaner petty bourgeoisie while attempting to control foreign capital, and the role of political parties in the furtherance of class [?]. The book concludes with two chapters on the growing oppositions movement, especially as it has crystallized in the African National Congress.