Real acts, imagined landscapes: reflections on the discourses of land reform in South Africa after 1994
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Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Abstract
This paper discusses the discourses by which land reform policies in South Africa have
been justified and criticized. Critical thought is needed about the underlying assumptions
and frameworks informing policy and critique. While key aspects of populist, ‘Left’ and
liberal ideologies helped mobilize support for land reform after 1994, they framed questions
of equitable transformation and justice in ways that obscured the terrain of struggle
rather than revealing it. The broad consensus on the legitimacy of land reform in the
initial decade after 1994 was underpinned by narratives about redress and reconciliation
that privileged reparative justice above distributive equity. It tended to obscure the complex
trade-offs and impacts involved in implementation. Coherent policy-making was further
undermined by simplistic oppositions between ’market’ and ‘rights-based’ approaches
that often led to ill-targeted policies. Land and agrarian reform needs to be liberated from
this symbolic burden. It should be informed by an understanding of the nature of
inequality in South Africa and the contribution that agrarian change can make to
reducing it.
Description
Keywords
Agrarian reform, Discourse, Reparative justice, Distributive justice
Citation
Du Toit, A. (2013). Acts, imagined landscapes: reflections on the discourses of land reform in South Africa after 1994. Journal of Agrarian Change, 13(1), 16–22