The limitations of a marxist functional explanation of apartheid

Bibliographic Data

ID6213822
AuthorsPhilip Nel (0000-0002-1325-307X, Stellenbosch University, corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume14
Issue2
Pages3-15
Publication date1987-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitikon (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0258-9346 • E-ISSN: 1470-1014
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02589348708704879
OpenAlexW2054313795
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited16

Starting from the assumption that it is relatively fruitless to speculate on the social‐scientific adequacy of functional explanations per se, I proceed to consider the adequacy of a specific instance of functional explanation. Harold Wolpe's account of Apartheid's benefits for capitalist accumulation in South Africa is reconstructed as not only an adumbration of the nature of Apartheid, but also an explanation of the origin and/or persistence of this set of policies. By elaborating upon two sets of criticism generally levelled against functional explanations, Wolpe's account is shown to be of very limited value. Its usefulness can be improved if Wolpe rephrases his argument as a propensity‐consequence account, and identifies and explains the mechanism through which Apartheid's benefits reinforce this policy. Both courses of action, however, point towards intentional‐causal statements as the more appropriate explanatory strategy to be employed

Action (physics · Argument (complex analysis · Criticism · Economics · Epistemology · Marxist philosophy · Mechanism (biology · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Critical Realism in Sociology · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub