Browsing by Author "Truter, Joshua"
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- ItemThe National Democratic Revolution: A ‘Utopian’ Blueprint for South Africa(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Truter, Joshua; De Jager, Nicola; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The topic of utopian thought has seen a resurgence as a field of study, the vision of a perfect society being an alluring prospect for many. Using this ideal to guide one’s thoughts in an effort at self-improvement is harmless, but imposing a subjective definition of perfection upon others, however, is dangerous. The ANC’s guiding political project, the National Democratic Revolution, is a utopian aspiration. The way in which the party wishes to set about achieving its goals could have dire consequences for South Africa’s fragile democracy. This thesis intended to answer the question: Does the African National Congress (ANC) aim to achieve a totalitarian utopia through the blueprint of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR)? And as an ancillary question: How has Marxism influenced the ANC and does it remain influential as an ideology in the ANC, and has its form evolved? This investigation was undertaken through a case study design and qualitative research approach. Using Atlas.ti, key terms were coded and the party’s language in their strategy and tactics documents from 1969 to 2017 were analysed. The key terms were based on an understanding of the endpoint of utopias being totalitarianism (to answer the main research question) and on one of the three main ideological strands within the ANC, namely Marxism, which was anticipated to have influenced the ANC’s policy documents (to answer the secondary research questions). The findings revealed that although South Africa is not a totalitarian state, the ANC’s NDR can be considered a blueprint for a totalitarian utopia because it is aspirational. Significantly, the terms ‘societal leader’ and ‘transformation’ were most prevalent throughout the period analysed. These terms, commonly associated with totalitarian and utopian tendencies, imply that the ANC views itself as occupying a position higher than that of an ordinary political party in that it deems itself to possess the ability to transform society towards their definition of perfection. This deeply Marxist aspiration, as will become evident from the analysis, remains influential in the party. This prevalence of a multitude of anti-democratic tendencies does not bode well for the future of South Africa’s democracy. Simply because we no longer see rigidly totalitarian regimes does not mean their spirit has faded away completely.