Ironies of Solidarity Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa
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Ironies of Solidarity Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa Published by one of the world’s leading publishers on African issues, ‘Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa’ seeks to provide accessible but in-depth analysis of key contemporary issues affecting countries within the continent. Featuring a wealth of empirical mate- rial and case study detail, and focussing on a diverse range of subject matter – from conflict to gender, development to the environment – the series is a platform for scholars to present original and often provoca- tive arguments. Selected titles in the series are published in association with the International African Institute. Editorial board Rita Abrahamsen (University of Ottawa); Morten Boas (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs); David Booth (Overseas Development Institute); Padraig Carmody (Trinity College Dublin); Neil Carrier (University of Bristol); Fantu Cheru (Leiden University); Kevin Dunn (Hobart and William Smith Colleges); Amanda Hammar (University of Copenhagen); Alcinda Honwana (Open University); Paul Jackson (University of Birmingham); Gabrielle Lynch (University of Warwick); Zachariah Mampilly (Vassar College); Henning Melber (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation); Garth A. Myers (Trinity College Hartford Connecticut); Léonce Ndikumana (UMass Amherst); Cyril Obi (Social Science Research Council); Susan Parnell (University of Cape Town); Mareike Schomerus (Overseas Development Institute); Laura Seay (Morehouse College); Howard Stein (University of Michigan); Mats Utas (Uppsala University); Alex de Waal (Tufts University) Already published Mobility between Africa, Asia and Latin America: Economic Networks and Cultural Interactions, edited by Ute Röschenthaler and Alessandro Jedlowski Agricultural Development in Rwanda: Authoritarianism, Markets and Spaces of Governance, Chris Huggins Liberia’s Female Veterans: War, Roles and Reintegration, Leena Vastapuu and Emmi Nieminen Food Aid in Sudan: A History of Power, Politics and Profit, Susanne Jaspars Kakuma Refugee Camp: Humanitarian Urbanism in Kenya’s Accidental City, Bram J. Jansen Development Planning in South Africa: Provincial Policy and State Power in the Eastern Cape, John Reynolds Uganda: The Dynamics of Neoliberal Transformation, Jörg Weigratz AIDS in the Shadow of Biomedicine: Inside South Africa’s Epidemic, Isak Niehaus Infrastructure and Hybrid Governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, edited by Kristof Titeca and Tom De Herdt BRICS and Resistance in Africa: Contention, Assimilation and Co-optation, edited by Justin van der Merwe, Patrick Bond, and Nicola Dodd Forthcoming titles Entrepreneurs and SMEs in Rwanda: Conspicuous by their Absence, David Poole Malawi: Economy, Society and Political Affairs, edited by Matthias Rompel and Reimer Gronemeyer Undoing Coups: The African Union and Post-coup Intervention in Madagascar, Antonia Witt Africa’s Shadow Rise: China and the Mirage of African Economic Development, Padraig Carmody and Peter Kragelund Contesting Africa’s New Green Revolution: Biotechnology and Philanthrocapitalist Development in Ghana, Jacqueline Ignatova Economic Diversification in Nigeria: Fractious Politics and an Economy Beyond Oil, Zainab Usman The Politics of Fear in South Sudan: Generating Chaos, Creating Conflict, Daniel Akeck Thiong About the author Erik Bähre is Associate Professor at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University. He is the Principal Investigator of the ERC Consolidator Project ‘Moralising Misfortune: A Comparative Anthropology of Commercial Insurance’ and author of Money and Violence: Financial Self-Help Groups in a South African Township. Published in association with the International African Institute The principal aim of the International African Institute is to promote scholarly understanding of Africa, notably its changing societies, cul- tures and languages. Founded in 1926 and based in London, it supports a range of publications including the journal Africa. www.internationalafricaninstitute.org Ironies of Solidarity Insurance and Financialization of Kinship in South Africa Erik Bähre In association with the International African Institute Ironies of Solidarity: Insurance and Financialization of Kinship in South Africa was first published in 2020 by Zed Books Ltd, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR, UK. www.zedbooks.net Copyright Erik Bähre 2020 The right of Erik Bähre to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 Typeset in Plantin by Swales and Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon Index by Rohan Bolton Cover design by Burgess and Beech Cover photo Joan Bardeletti / Panos Pictures Printed and bound by the CPI Group Ltd (UK), Croydon, CR0 4YY All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-78699-857-6 hb ISBN 978-1-78699-858-3 pb ISBN 978-1-78699-856-9 pdf ISBN 978-1-78699-854-5 epub ISBN 978-1-78699-855-2 mobi To the memory of Simnikiwe “Nana” Moyikwa/Dingile, 1988–2015 Contents List of illustrations xi Acknowledgements xiii 1. Introduction 1 2. An ironic analysis 18 3. Hope and redistribution 39 4. Penetrating a new market 56 5. The Janus face of inclusion 81 6. The enchantment of abstract finance 100 7. Transforming mutualities in business 119 8. Death as moral hazard 140 9. Conclusion: ironies of solidarity 165 Notes 179 Bibliography 190 Index 209 Illustrations Figures 6.1 Threats to sustainability of insurance for the poor and lower middle classes (LSM 1–5) according to actuaries (%) 104 6.2 “In the eyes of members of low income households (LSM 1–5), how trustworthy are …” 107 6.3 Residents of Indawo Yoxolo and Tembani: “How trustworthy do you think are …” 109 8.1 Funerals: advantages taken 144 Tables 1.1 Insurance uptake, Indawo Yoxolo and Tembani, Cape Town 4 2.1 Ironies in rationalities 31 4.1 Survey response from actuaries on policies of the South African government: “The government has developed BEE policies which improve the insurance industry” 67 4.2 Survey response from actuaries on policies of the South African government: “The government has developed BEE policies which improve clients’ access to insurance products” 68 4.3 Survey response from actuaries on policies of the South African government: “The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will make citizens depend on the state” 71 4.4 Survey response from actuaries on policies of the South African government: “The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is meant to ensure political support for the ANC” 72 7.1 Schematic representation of identities and affiliations of taxi associations 129 Acknowledgements If it were not for insurance, this book would not have been written. And if it were not for how South African insurance companies expanded their markets, I could not have studied how insurance was related to democratization and became part of the everyday lives of people in the townships of Cape Town. My first research there took place in 1995, a year after South Africa’s landmark first democratic elections. At the time, insurance was virtually absent in the townships and people relied on neighbors, kin, and other social networks to overcome adversities. This changed dramatically over the next twenty years as insurance companies began developing products that targeted Africans. Today, insurance has become a very important and simultaneously discreet part of everyday life. There is also a personal reason why the book would probably not have come into being if it had not been for insurance. When I was about to start fieldwork, I became very ill. It was my insurance that paid for the very expensive treatment. I doubt if I would have survived with- out insurance, but without a doubt the medical expenses would have financially crippled me and my family, with devastating consequences especially for my children. For that reason, I am grateful to people I have never met and never will meet. Despite not knowing one another, they helped me and my family overcome a life-threatening adversity. Acknowledging them might seem out of place. It is not about personal relations or social obligations. It is not even about charity, since my insurance consists of contractual obligations with a private company. But I am nonetheless grateful that this large-scale and abstract form of solidarity exists, that an insurance company makes this kind of solidar- ity possible, and that the state regulates it in such a way that money is made available to cure me and others. My deep gratitude goes to the residents of Indawo Yoxolo, Tembani, and other townships in Cape Town – for our conversations, for inviting me to events, and for sharing important aspects of their lives with me. I especially value the insights they gave me into the less heroic and benevolent episodes of their lives – aspects that were not sanitized by a language of how things ideally should be, but that actu- ally revealed how life really is. I greatly appreciate how people dealt xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS with our differences, which are so deeply entrenched in South Africa’s history. Over the years, their world became a part of my world, and changed the way I look at life. This enrichment goes far beyond this book. Edith Moyikwa and Vido Sam dedicated indispensable