Nation building in SA dependent on vast social cohesion
historical and political scars. WHENEVER the issue of social cohesion is dealt with, the approach should consider both dimensions of social cohesion: relationship social cohesion and cognitive social cohesion.
The tangible programmes have to be inclusive of the two interrelated aspects of social cohesion. In most instances, the dimension that receives due consideration is relationship social cohesion.
This leaves unattended deep-seated challenges of cognitive social cohesion that cannot easily be crystallised.
The reason that no sufficient attention is given to cognitive social cohesion could perhaps be attributed to the fact that it is less complicated, more convenient and enterprising to address tangible aspects of relationship social cohesion than the abstract elements of cognitive social cohesion.
As such, most of the strategies, plans and programmes of governments on social cohesion exclusively focuses on relationship and event-oriented social cohesion without considering cognitive social cohesion, except in few instances where cognitive social cohesion issues are accommodated.
This is a shortcoming that needs to be attended with the view to ensure a comprehensive and substantive approach is adopted to the resolution of complex issues of social cohesion in all its manifestations in the country.
The pre-requisite and imperative socio-economic conditions in which social cohesion could be pursued, realised and permanently sustained have to be prevalent in communities.
In order to effectively address the challenges that continuously undermine dedicated efforts to realise social cohesion in the country, it is important to deal decisively with both the current and historical root causal factors of the social exclusion, inadequate social capital, social injustices that remain barriers on the road towards achieving substantive social cohesion.
The remaining historical scars of racial and ethnic supremacy, Eurocentrism, imperialism, colonialism, racism and apartheid are some of the major factors that minimise the development and consolidation of common national identity and social cohesion in South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal.
In specific terms, these historical and political scars find demonstrable and living expression in forms and substances alluded to below: socially constructed asymmetry in power and race relations, the racial, gender, social and spatial distribution of inequality, poverty and unemployment levels and skewed ownership of productive assets; segregated human settlement areas by race and social class; unequal status of languages; lack of culturally driven interactive communication; and racism and inferiority complex. Social cohesion is conceptualised by the European Committee for Social Cohesion as “the capacity of a society to ensure the welfare of all its members, minimising disparities and avoiding polarisation.
“A cohesive society is a mutually supportive community of free individuals pursuing these common goals by democratic means.
“The critical ingredients of social cohesion are common national identity and social capital; the norms and social relations in the social structure promoting collective efforts and actions of the members of the society to achieve desired common goals.”
In the terms of Ismael Gerageldin (1998): “Social capital is the internal social and cultural coherence of society, the norms and values that govern interactions among people and the institutions in which they are embedded. Social Capital is the glue that holds societies and without which there can be no economic growth or human well-being.”
Both of the above definitions inclusively capture the essence of what social cohesion is and its related concomitant dimensions.
Useful social assets and resources for constructing and the reconstruction of social capital are, among others, trust, honesty, belief system, tradition, language, culture and religion, neighbourhood, human relations of family, etc.
Under normal societal circumstances, social cohesion between and among citizens who constitute a nationhood is anchored and evolves around the existence of shared goals or values that are common among them.
The wide acceptance of overarching universal values, shared heritage, history and culture that bind people or citizens together in advancing the development of humanity is an indispensable building block of social cohesion and nation building.
The goal of social cohesion can be pursued forever but cannot be achieved with social justice and reconciliation whose realisation require societal transformation to decisively address socio-economic inequalities and inequities that define the social fabric of our country.
The rationale and premise on which the case for national and social cohesion building rests are as follows: the successful building of national identity and national social cohesion is a necessary prerequisite for sustainable substantive democracy (more than electoral, formal or liberal constitutional democracy), social and economic development that can eliminate racism, inequality, poverty, unemployment and negative human development.
Without embedded values of social cohesion in the adopted and implementable programmes of social cohesion in the education curriculum at schools, in institutions of higher learning and in other social structures, the ideal of social cohesion will remain an elusive dream.
The pursuit of the goal of social cohesion is imperative for sustainable development.
If sustainable societal development as envisaged in the country generally, and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, is about the transformation of the existing society, the building of common national (provincial) identity and social cohesion should both be a process as well as an outcome of that societal transformation agenda.
In a country where there are high levels of income and social inequalities expressed in terms of “the haves and the have nots” and the prevalence of moral degeneration and decay, it becomes difficult to achieve the objectives of social cohesion. The achievement of the mission of nation building in South Africa will be determined by the existence of substantive social capital that underpins the strength and sustainability of social cohesion.
Mahlangu is an independent governance and public policy analyst and a member of the Council Vaal University of Technology. He writes in his personal capacity