Answer to Question #255380 in Sociology for Nombulelo

Question

Conclude on what you think elites’ role in South Africa ought to be.

Answer 1

South African elites have important roles in the progress of the country. Firstly, they push for nationalism which is an ideology of the elite, driven by a sense of grievance for being excluded by British colonialists and later, Afrikaner nationalists. Elites mobilize the working class, peasants, youth, and students to fight against exclusion from the country’s wealth. Secondly, elites compel the government to provide education, healthcare, and social services that had disproportionately been supplied to whites. Thirdly, elites in South Africa play a greater in ensuring that democracy works best for the interest of all and not for British elites only. They further push for equality of all in South Africa given that it is the most unequal country in the world. It has some of the highest unemployment rates in the world. In regard to the employment sector, elites provide the role of job reservation, and discriminatory education policies condemned South Africa to lower skill levels of development in areas such as extractive industries, assembly, construction, public sector administration, and trade.