The Value of Class Consciousness
Grand Marxism (and its subsidiaries), in the form of a general societal system of organisation, has largely been discredited since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet empire. It is nevertheless important to distinguish between Marxism as an organising ideology and Marxism as an intellectual endeavour.
The contemporary crisis of confidence affecting capitalism, heralded by the ongoing global financial crisis and the deepening of inequalities, behoves us to continue the search for nuggets of Marxist intellectual insight in the ideological trash heap left behind by the despots of yesteryear.
One such nugget is highly relevant to the South African context. Resulting from the sweeping changes that have transformed our society during the past two decades has been the rise of a new middle class - or petty bourgeoisie in Marxist terms. Recent studies indicate that there are now 4.2 million black middle class people in South Africa - a dramatic increase from just 1.7 million in 2004.
This group joins the established white middle class, which numbers 3 million. For the first time in the country's history, there are more black middle class people in South Africa than whites. It means that, out of a population of 51.8 million, 14 percent of South Africans are now classified as middle class - up from about 8.8 percent in 1994.
This indicates that the total amount of wealth in the country has increased, while pre-existing wealth was largely preserved. Instead of pursuing pure wealth redistribution (merely slicing the existing economic ‘pie' differently), it shows that the total amount of wealth has increased (the ‘pie' was made bigger) - with the benefits largely accruing to those newly middle class individuals.