RAJAK Hope and betrayal on the platinum belt Pre-Copy Edited Version clean.pdf (466.66 kB)
Hope and betrayal on the platinum belt: responsibility, violence and corporate power in South Africa
This article considers the resurgence in state-backed violence against mineworkers in South Africa, which reached its apogee at the Marikana platinum mines in August 2012, in relation to the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the post-revolutionary political economy. I explore a paradox of CSR, which has emerged more strongly than ever in the wake of Marikana, whereby mining companies have been able to use CSR to dispense with (rather than fulfil) their social obligations and to externalise (rather than address) their social impact. Operating within an old-school logic of paternalism and benevolence, the practice of CSR is at odds with the discourse of empowerment, upward mobility and worker autonomy that modern mining companies claim to foster. Marikana shows us how CSR paradoxically serves as a resource that empowers companies (in response to their critics and claimants) rather than its intended beneficiaries.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Journal of Southern African StudiesISSN
0305-7070Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
5Volume
42Page range
929-946Department affiliated with
- Anthropology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-06-23First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-04-09First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-06-24Usage metrics
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