NEOLIBERALISM
Class battle lies at heart of service-delivery protests
There are many challenges including toxic party politics, but if society is to change, it will have to be done, writes Shawn Hattingh
Wave after wave of community protests have been taking place in SA. People are angry that after more than 20 years of so-called freedom they are still living in shacks, having to defecate in communal plastic toilets and having essential services terminated when they can’t afford to pay. What fuels this anger further is that on the other side of cities and towns, in the former whites-only suburbs, the elite and middle classes flaunt their wealth. Here, people live with manicured gardens, swimming pools, maid’s quarters and luxury cars. Under such circumstances, it is not hard to see why SA is ranked as one of the world’s most unequal societies. Yet the ruling class — white and now black capitalists, top state officials and politicians — have waged an incessant war against the working class, particularly the black section, to deepen inequality. They have done so to increase their wealth. This class war lies at the root of the recent wave of protests. Many of those involved in the prot...
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