research paper
Towards Democratic Justice? Land Reform in South Africa:
Abstract
This article theoretically establishes the interconnections between justice and democracy, and empirically explores the case of land reform in South Africa in the light of these interconnections. Firstly, it argues that democracy must ensure the realisation of social justice in order to create the conditions for human freedom and a truly inclusive and legitimate democracy. Secondly, the article argues that justice must also be subject to democratisation, i.e. public participation and deliberation on what should be distributed, how and to whom, termed democratic justice. In South Africa, there are significant concerns about the lack of redistribution and the continued exclusion of the poor, meaning that democratic justice is some way far from being achieved.
INTRODUCTION
Many countries across the world are now democratic and apparently place liberty and welfare at the centre of their value and policy systems. However, poverty, vulnerability and inequality remain major social problems, most starkly in former colonised countries facing the legacy of historical repression. Movements struggling for social justice and theorists concerned with such issues are increasingly highlighting the interconnections of democracy and justice, in particular how democracy requires social justice and how social justice (henceforth termed justice) must be democratic. This article examines the theoretical aspects of such interconnections and considers what this means for the case of land reform in South Africa.
Centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid have made South Africa one of the most unequal countries in the world and the distribution of land is a major aspect of such inequality. Through repressive legislation based on racist ideology, black people were denied civil and political rights, and excluded from economic rights such as benefiting from the resources of the country. White governments
Abstract
This article theoretically establishes the interconnections between justice and democracy, and empirically explores the case of land reform in South Africa in the light of these interconnections. Firstly, it argues that democracy must ensure the realisation of social justice in order to create the conditions for human freedom and a truly inclusive and legitimate democracy. Secondly, the article argues that justice must also be subject to democratisation, i.e. public participation and deliberation on what should be distributed, how and to whom, termed democratic justice. In South Africa, there are significant concerns about the lack of redistribution and the continued exclusion of the poor, meaning that democratic justice is some way far from being achieved.
INTRODUCTION
Many countries across the world are now democratic and apparently place liberty and welfare at the centre of their value and policy systems. However, poverty, vulnerability and inequality remain major social problems, most starkly in former colonised countries facing the legacy of historical repression. Movements struggling for social justice and theorists concerned with such issues are increasingly highlighting the interconnections of democracy and justice, in particular how democracy requires social justice and how social justice (henceforth termed justice) must be democratic. This article examines the theoretical aspects of such interconnections and considers what this means for the case of land reform in South Africa.
Centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid have made South Africa one of the most unequal countries in the world and the distribution of land is a major aspect of such inequality. Through repressive legislation based on racist ideology, black people were denied civil and political rights, and excluded from economic rights such as benefiting from the resources of the country. White governments
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