The article "Social Anomie and Racial Segregation in South Africa" by Denis Huschka and Steffen Mau gives us a deeper look into the sense of a lack of social regulation or integration in post-apartheid South Africa. The authors' premise is that, following apartheid, South Africa underwent huge social and institutional change and thus experienced increased anomie, or a "loss of general social orientation, the development of feelings of insecurity and marginalization...and the questioning of the legitimacy of core social values."
Basic Definition of Anomie: Emile Durkheim defines social anomie from a sociological perspective: when a society lacks social norms due to large social inequalities. Robert Merton adds a cultural element to the definition of anomie, and defines anomie as the inability of certain groups to attain socially accepted or valued goals.
Racial Integration: In post-apartheid South Africa, there has been political equality, but social inequalities still run rampant: there have been only slight improvements in education, job opportunities, and financial security. As a result, a new social hierarchy within the black population has emerged, due to unequal access to political and administrative power and material wealth. Thus, despite major political reforms, race continues to be the main divisive factor in South African society - blacks are the most socially disadvantaged.
The main take-away from this article is that political equality does not necessarily translate into social equality. For South Africa, full integration of social equality will take time, and anomie will continue to exist until integration in all areas of life (economic, social, political, educational, etc) are in effect. It takes every sub-group within a society to contribute to this unity.
Basic Definition of Anomie: Emile Durkheim defines social anomie from a sociological perspective: when a society lacks social norms due to large social inequalities. Robert Merton adds a cultural element to the definition of anomie, and defines anomie as the inability of certain groups to attain socially accepted or valued goals.
Racial Integration: In post-apartheid South Africa, there has been political equality, but social inequalities still run rampant: there have been only slight improvements in education, job opportunities, and financial security. As a result, a new social hierarchy within the black population has emerged, due to unequal access to political and administrative power and material wealth. Thus, despite major political reforms, race continues to be the main divisive factor in South African society - blacks are the most socially disadvantaged.
The main take-away from this article is that political equality does not necessarily translate into social equality. For South Africa, full integration of social equality will take time, and anomie will continue to exist until integration in all areas of life (economic, social, political, educational, etc) are in effect. It takes every sub-group within a society to contribute to this unity.
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