Community and the Economy
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Community and the Economy: A Reformed theological reflection on a social-embedded economy Bernardus Johannes Pieters Supervisor: Prof Beverley Haddad Submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Religion, Philosophy, and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal. November 2016 ABSTRACT This study focuses on the contribution that Reformed theology can make toward the restructuring of the relationship between the economy and community in order to achieve a more equal and just distribution of livelihoods, elements of production and opportunity for all. It begins by highlighting the economic roots of the lack of freedom present in the modern South African economy. Uncontrolled economic growth and the need for cheap labour led to urbanisation, the destruction of mostly African communities, and poverty amongst both white and black workers. Attempts to eradicate poverty by using capitalism failed because the problem of the relationship between the economy and community was not resolved. Employing the work of the economic historian Karl Polanyi who assessed the way ancient cultures embedded the economy in social relations of the community, the study attempts to understand the economic roots of unfreedom. It argues that social-embeddedness provides a framework for a Reformed economic theology, because Reformed theology focuses on restored relationships between God and humanity and between human beings. A Reformed economic theology finds its source and goal in the righteousness of God that unmasks societal structures as sinful and oppressive towards the poor and vulnerable groups in society. Christians and others are called to be humanist, to resist the economic forces that create unfreedom, and to accept responsibility for restorative justice. However, field research revealed that a group of white Afrikaans businessmen from Reformed communities had not been exposed to this liberating trajectory in the Reformed tradition within their church communities. The study concludes by developing a Reformed economic theology built on the institutionalised pattern of covenant and the principles of sacrifice. It challenges traditional concepts of the economy, control over the elements of production, social and economic institutions and governance. It also provides Reformed Christians with resources that enable them to move from their embeddedness in individualism and comfortable materialism, towards becoming a truly covenantal community in solidarity with the poor. i DECLARATION Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor Philosophiae in the Graduate Programme in School of Religion, Philosophy, and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. I, Bernardus Johannes Pieters (6301105003087) declare that: 1. The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. 2. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other University. 3. This thesis does not contain other persons‟ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. 4. This thesis does not contain other persons' writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced. b. Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed inside quotation marks, and referenced. 5. This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the references sections. BJ Pieters Prof. B Haddad ii This study is dedicated to: My wife, Lizbé, a fellow-pilgrim on the way of Christ. My parents, Manie en Davida Pieters for leading us on the way of Christ. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have to acknowledge the support and contribution of my wife, Lizbé, and our two sons, Manu and Kobus. Thank you for sharing our love for one another, the joy when we succeed, and the support when we struggle. Over the past six years all of us had to make sacrifices in terms of time, money and opportunities that we missed in order to complete this study. This is as much yours as it is mine. I am so proud to be part of this family. Prof. Beverley Haddad made an immense contribution supervising the study. It is difficult to even try to express in words the value of her guidance and support. She was generous and competent in guiding me through the challenges of research, structuring arguments and writing the dissertation. Also the support for my visit to Montreal is appreciated. Also thank you for persons who gave time and advice. During my visit to Montreal I met and spent time with Kari Polanyi Levitt, Gregory Baum, Marguerite Mendell, Jordan Bishop, Michael Roy, and Shaun McCallum. In South Africa I met with Dirkie Smit, Nico Koopmans, and John de Gruchy. They all made valuable contributions. At UKZN I always appreciated the company of fellow students, specifically Thomas Ninan, and the support from staff, specifically, Roderick Hewitt and Clint Le Bruyns. I am indebted to Ana Gomes at the Karl Polanyi Institute in Montreal, and the library staff at the universities of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg) (UKZN), of South Africa (UNISA) and of Pretoria (UP). Sandra Duncan deserves a word of appreciation for the language editing. I had the opportunity to interview eight senior businessmen as part of the study. I am grateful for the willingness and time they made available to participate in the project. I am grateful to my employers at Fontainebleau Community Church (FCC) and Homo Novus Community Projects (HNCP) who allowed me to work on this project, often during office hours. Because of the study I had the privilege to meet and befriend Eugene and Gerda Joubert. Their hospitality, warmth and patience made the times in Pietermaritzburg not only possible, but gave meaning to an otherwise self-centred project. I also want to mention Arnold Beyleveld, Ronell Bezuidenhout and Jurgens Pieterse for their encouragement – especially during the early phases of the project. When I started the journey I was asked why I took on the project. My answer was that I hoped to rediscover the Christian tradition I grew up in. I did. I rediscovered the liberating trajectory of grace, the orientation to the poor of election, the emphasis on community, the call to self- sacrifice, and how the concept of original sin provides us with a resource to understand society. I rather naively, believe that this journey and discovery is what God in God‟s grace and mercy wanted for me, and for that I am extremely thankful and humbled. iv ACRONYMS AA - Affirmative Action AB - Afrikaner Broederbond ACSV - Afrikaanse Christen Studentevereniging ANC - African National Congress AsgiSA - Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa BB-BEE - Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment CEO - Chief Executive Officer COSATU - Congress of South African Trade Unions FCC - Fontainebleau Community Church FET College - Further Education and Training College GATT - General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs GEAR - Growth, Employment and Redistribution Programme HNCP - Homo Novus Community Projects HTS - HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ICU - Industrial and Commercial Workers‟ Union IMF - International Monetary Fund ISCOR - Industrial Steel Corporation IWW - Industrial Workers of the World FVB - Federale Volksbeleggings (Federal People‟s Investments) JIPSA - Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition JTSA - Journal of Theology for Southern Africa MERG - Macroeconomic Research Group NEDLAC - National Economic Development and Labour Council NG Kerk - Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (also known as Dutch Reformed Church) NGO - Non-governmental Organisation NGTT - Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif v NIV - New International Version NP - National Party RDP - Reconstruction and Development Plan RDP-WP - Reconstruction and Development Plan White Paper REC - Reformed Ecumenical Council SANDF - South African National Defense Force SCA - Student Christian Association SME - Small and Medium Enterprises UKZN - University of KwaZulu-Natal UNISA - University of South Africa UP - University of Pretoria URCSA - Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa WARC - World Alliance of Reformed Churches WCC - World Council of Churches WCRC - World Communion of Reformed Churches WTO - World Trade Organisation WW1 - First World War WW2 - Second World War vi Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. i Declaration............................................................................................................................ ii Dedication ........................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. iv Acronyms .............................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introducing the study .....................................................................................