White Liberals, ‘the Left’ and the New Africanist Elite in South Africa

Abstract

Recently there has been growing conflict and acrimony between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and white liberals in South Africa (SA). Many observers are surprised by this because it is occurring at a time when ideological divisions between the liberals and 'the left' have narrowed and the ANC is adopting many of the economic policies and political principles of which the liberals have traditionally been leading (though not the sole) proponents. These conflicts among opponents of apartheid have deep historical roots. These include: (i) the ideological divisions between white liberals, represented in organizations such as the Liberal Party, the Progressive Party, the Democratic Party and the SA Institute of Race Relations, and the communists and socialists, organized in the SA Communist Party and the Congress of Democrats;' (ii) competition among the non-Africans, who usually dominated both the liberal and the communist organizations, for influence with the ANC and other organizations representing the African majority; (iii) resentment on the part of some (though by no means all) Africans against the (mainly white, Indian and coloured)