WHOSE ECONOMIC FREEDOM ANYWAY? REVELATIONS FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN DISCOURSE

Abstract

Abstract The Economic Freedom Index published by the Heritage Foundation ranks South Africa at 72nd out of 178 countries in terms of economic freedom in 2015. This index classifies South Africa as moderately free in terms of its level of economic freedom. While the country may be in the middle of the pack on the Economic Freedom Index, it is also often classified as one of the most unequal societies in the world. South Africa is often seen in the top five unequal countries globally with a high Gini-coefficient, and when using the Palma index (measuring the ratio of income share between the top 10 per cent and bottom 40 per cent), South Africa can also be classified as highly unequal. Therefore a contradiction seems to exist. While South Africa ranks as economically moderately free on one hand, the country is also regarded as one of the most unequal societies in the world, on the other hand. It is this contradiction that brings to the fore a contested ideological construction of economic freedom within its political narrative premised on a view that the promise of democracy had not delivered. This article presents a critical discourse analysis of the contested interpretations of economic freedom through the lens of securing liberation and the promise of democracy in South Africa: a promise built on the Freedom Charter's construction of a democratic South Africa. 1. Introduction The concept of economic freedom is accredited to the seminal work of Adam Smith entitled An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations (De Haan and Sturm 2000: 217; Johnson and Lenartowicz 1998: 337). Generally this concept is used to determine to what extent a market economy is present within a given state (Bergen 2003: 194). To do this, a number of key variables are measured to assess the level of economic freedom to pursue capitalist economic activity within a state. These include voluntary exchange through contract, free competition, freedom from governmental controls over individual transactions, and protection of private property rights (Berggen 1999; Hanke and Walters 1997; Berggen 2003: 194; De Haan and Sturm 2000: 217). The classic interpretation of economic freedom is found in the conceptualisation of Gwartney and Lawson (2001) who state that-- Individuals have economic freedom when property they acquire without the use of force, fraud, or theft is protected from physical invasion by others and they are free to use, exchange, or give their property as long as their actions do not violate the identical rights of others. It would thus seem that the realisation of economic freedom is dependent on the right to private property, a minimalist state in regulating economic activity and a high degree of autonomy for actors in pursuing economic activity. This also extends to international trade where state actors are able to transact freely. In other words, actors are free to make choices and engage in activities for their economic livelihoods. We see two paradoxical themes within the contested debate on economic freedom. On the one hand we note individual autonomy, independence and freedom of actors in pursuing economic activities, and on the other, a welfarist discourse seeking to protect individual actors from 'too much' economic freedom (De Haan and Sturm 2000: 216). A somewhat neglected discourse within democratisation scholarship is the alternative construction and interpretation of economic freedom and the purpose of the state in securing democracy in the context of reducing inequality. The vehicle to secure the economic dividend of democracy seems to be the democratic developmental state (Routley 2014). (1) The philosophical narrative on the nature and conceptualization of economic freedom that shapes the purpose of the democratic developmental state has not been interrogated. This creates a somewhat disconnected rhetoric of a democratic developmental state advancing the interests of a greater polity, but without a necessary theoretical conceptualisation of what is meant when we speak of economic freedom. …