Politico-philosophical perspectives on reconciliation
Date
2010
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The article is an analysis of the philosophical meaning and political prospects of
the idea of reconciliation between all South Africans. The author is sceptical about
this prospect. While he regards reconciliation as an admirable theological doctrine,
he doubts whether it is easily translatable into socio-political practice in South
Africa. The settlement reached in the aftermath of apartheid is not primarily to
be explicated in terms of a model of reconciliation where people forgive and learn
to like one another, but rather in terms of the Hobbesian model of a “war of all
against all”, redeemed by the restoration of basic values. The author analyses a
variety of conceptions of reconciliation that were developed in the aftermath of
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process. In South Africa, the emphasis
should be on the “concilium” aspect of reconciliation, i.e. the (re-) constitution of
an assembly for social, political and economic deliberation. A general commitment
of all South Africans to the values embedded in the South African constitution holds
far more promise for a peaceful future than and narrow emphasis on the idea of
reconciliation.
Description
CITATION: Van Niekerk, A.A. 2010. Politico-philosophical perspectives on reconciliation. Nederduitse Gereformeerde teologiese tydskrif / Dutch Reformed Theological Journal, 51(3):274-278, doi:10.5952/51-3-100.
The original publication is available at http://ngtt.journals.ac.za
The original publication is available at http://ngtt.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Reconciliation -- Philosophy, Reconciliation -- Political aspects -- South Africa, Philosophical meaning, Political prospects, Apartheid, Truth commissions -- South Africa
Citation
Van Niekerk, A.A. 2010. Politico-philosophical perspectives on reconciliation. Nederduitse Gereformeerde teologiese tydskrif / Dutch Reformed Theological Journal, 51(3):274-278, doi:10.5952/51-3-100