TRANSFORMING SOUTH-AFRICA ECONOMY - FROM RACIAL-FORDISM TO NEO-FORDISM

One of the most significant debates of the present period revolves aro und attempts to account for the rapidly changing nature of global capi talism, and, in particular, the paradigm shift in production methods f rom 'Fordism' to' post-Fordism'. This article examines how such a glob al phenomenon has impacted on South Africa in the period 1980-95. The analysis begins with a clarification of concepts used. A hybrid typolo gy is employed as a means of signifying the coexistence of a multiplic ity of labour processes. It is a conceptual device aimed at overcoming the tendency within the international and South African literature wh ich assumes an all-pervasive dominance of one production paradigm acro ss the entire economy. The article then evaluates all available eviden ce regarding the diffusion of the new technologies and managerial tech niques in the South African manufacturing sector. The predilection tow ards neo-Fordism and the absence of a clear shift to post-Fordist meth ods of production is interpreted as a consequence of key structural an d conjunctural constraints on technological, social and economic chang e. The article concludes by assessing the new macroeconomic policy pro posals which have arisen since the resounding electoral victory of the African National Congress (ANC) and its leader, Nelson Mandela, in So uth Africa's first ever democratic elections in April 1994. The remark able similarity between these policy propositions and the principal fe atures of post-Fordism are critically reviewed.