Shouldn’t government be doing more to plan and implement sustainable human settlements? Which leads to the question, what is the state? Also, in whose interest does it work? Can grassroots forces achieve sustainable and affordable housing and amenities? At INSITE this question occupied our minds. This was because we noticed the gap between policy and government practices that undermine human settlement sustainability. The point is that how you conceptualise the state determines how you answer these questions.

AI image of photo of South African parliament building. Actual photo on-line.
Forces capturing the state
Thuli Madonsela (previous Public Protector) recently put out a report about ‘state capture’. It suggests that the Gupta family got people appointed to key government posts. Their motive? To manipulate public procurement in their favour. But this is not the first time that reports of state capture have surfaced. In May 2016 Barry Sergeant reported how Investec “bagged” the National Prosecuting Authority. The motive? To cover up cases related to Brett Kebble and ensure they did not go to court. Sergeant analysed the role of Investec in the Kebble fraud cover up. This related to “the biggest white collar crime in South African history” . Therefore we are interested in this issue because the state is responsible for enabling access to social facilities, amenities and housing.
Yet financial institutions and private developers play the leading roles in urban development. Following from these assumptions does this mean that bankers and developers have also captured the state?
Grassroots force as counterbalance
To understand the gap between human settlements policy and practice we interest ourselves in questions of societal influences over state power. Madonsela, Sergeant and the media view the state as an instrument, separated from society. They need to protect this legal state from capture by evil influences. Their thinking distinguishes between a rechtstaat, based on the rule of law, and a failed state, i.e. the rechtstaat corrupted. ‘Common sense’ viewpoints fail to see that violation of the rule of law by elites is not exceptional but normal in contemporary capitalist societies. This point has been theorised extensively in political science, as show below.
Political theorist Nicos Poulantzas refers to the capitalist state as the concentration of a balance of class forces (see his “State Power, Socialism”, 1983). In this view the state is embedded in the political economy of society. It does not exist independently. Thus the state reflects dominant social class interests. At the same time dominated classes contest the state for policies and practices that benefit the majority. Consequently, these latter policies guide interventions and budgets for the welfare of poorer people and the working classes.
I used this approach to state policies on human settlements to explain the very limited provision of affordable housing in Cape Town during past decades as a reflection of neo-liberal capitalism. (The Publications section of our website contains a reference and a link to this chapter too). This concept of the state is fundamental to our interpretation of the meaning of INSITE’s slogan, “linking development to people”.
Programme strengths-weaknesses 1 – CSP
Between 2012 and 2016 I (Paul Hendler) led a team of consultants for the Cities Support Programme (CSP). This is about the programme strengths-weaknesses. The CSP is a National Treasury (NT) project. CSP's purpose is to address the poverty, unemployment and...
Neo-Liberalism – Urbanisation Housing
Executive Summary A group of 14 people gathered at a home in Kalk Bay during 2017 to discuss the meaning of 'neo-liberalism'. Neo-liberalism - urbanisation housing. There is already an introductory trailer to this. We are all involved in concern for where our society...
Neo-Liberalism – Urbanisation Housing 1
Trailer - Introduction Video Here is a trailer for a longer video. This records the introduction to a discussion that I facilitated. The discussion was about Neo-liberalism. And its impact on South Africa's Urban and Housing strategies since 1994. Neo-Liberalism -...
Programme strengths-weaknesses 1 – CSP
Between 2012 and 2016 I (Paul Hendler) led a team of consultants for the Cities Support Programme (CSP). This is about the programme strengths-weaknesses. The CSP is a National Treasury (NT) project. CSP's purpose is to address the poverty, unemployment and...
Neo-Liberalism – Urbanisation Housing
Executive Summary A group of 14 people gathered at a home in Kalk Bay during 2017 to discuss the meaning of 'neo-liberalism'. Neo-liberalism - urbanisation housing. There is already an introductory trailer to this. We are all involved in concern for where our society...
Neo-Liberalism – Urbanisation Housing 1
Trailer - Introduction Video Here is a trailer for a longer video. This records the introduction to a discussion that I facilitated. The discussion was about Neo-liberalism. And its impact on South Africa's Urban and Housing strategies since 1994. Neo-Liberalism -...
Do the new Project Management Course!
During February I facilitated a Project Management Course. There were participants from four organisations. Habitat for Humanity South Africa. Shackdwellers International. Peoples Environmental Planning. And Making of Cities. The course venue was the Josephine Mill in...
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