Why race matters in South Africa
By: Michael MacDonald.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 245
Subjects: Blacks -- South Africa -- Economic conditions; South Africa -- Race relations -- Political aspects
Description: "This book tells the story of how the transition to democracy in South Africa enfranchised blacks politically but without raising most of them from poverty. It shows in detail how the continuing strength of the white establishment forces the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) to compromise plans for full political and economic transformation. Deferring the economic tranformation, the new dispensation nurtures a small black elite. The new elite absorbs the economic interests of the established white elites while continuing to share racial identities with the majority of their countrymen, muffling the divisions between rich whites and poor blacks, thus ensuring political stability in the new South Africa."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.