South Africa: Amandla Colloquium, Cape Town April 4-6, 2008

Amandla Colloquium: Continuity and Discontinuity of Capitalism in the Post-apartheid South Africa

4-6 April, 2008, Cape Town, Ritz Hotel (Sea Point)
Friday afternoon – Sunday afternoon

Colloquium Objectives:
Develop an analysis of the changing nature and structure of capitalism in post-apartheid South Africa;
Examining how capitalist restructuring has reshaped the working class both at the point of production and reproduction;
Develop perspectives for anti-capitalist strategies;
Develop research agenda related to changing nature of South African capitalism;
Popularise Amandla Publishers as a progressive media initiative that serves to promote anti-capitalist analysis and perspectives;
Strengthen collaboration of radical scholars, activists and movements engaged in developing perspectives and carrying-out programmes responding and challenging the contemporary South African political economy.
Friday 4 April
Day 1: Session 1:
14.00 – 16.00
Restructuring of Globalised Capitalism in the 21st century and the implications for semi-industrial countries
a. The nature of globalised capitalism
b. The crisis of the world economy
Gilbert Achcar
Bill Tabb

16.00 – 16.15
Tea

16.30 – 18.30
c. Labour in an age of insecurity: locating labour in its global and national context
d. Capitalism today from a feminist perspective
Eddie Webster
Nina Benjamin

Saturday 5 April
Day 2: Session 2
9.00– 11.00
What type of capitalism in post – apartheid SA
a. From colonialism of special type / racial capitalism to what?
David Masondo (to be confirmed)
Andrew Nash

Society and State in post-apartheid SA
11.00– 13.00
b. Defining the Post apartheid society and the state; How do we account for the neoliberal character of the post apartheid economy and policy
Mohau Pheko
Ashwin Desai

13.00 – 14.00
Lunch

Session 3
Continuities and discontinuities of capitalism post-apartheid
14.00 – 17.30
a. What shapes and drives capital accumulation in SA –
b. Towards a new accumulation path: Mineral –energy complex and the nature of post apartheid industrialisation;
c. Overcoming crisis and restoring profitability: strategies of capital post apartheid
Seeraj Mohamed
Ben Fine
Patrick Bond

Sunday 6 April
Day 3: Session 4
9.00 – 11.00
Capital and Labour: Reproduction of cheap labour: from the migrant labour system to new forms of super – exploitation
a. Creating a two tier labour system informalisation and casualisation of labour -
b. Feminisation of labour as form of super –exploitation
Simon Kimani

Session 5
11.00 – 12.00
South Africa in the Region: sub-imperialist power or benevolent hegemon
Azwell Banda

Session 6
12.00 – 13.30
Closing session
Challenges facing the left in confronting post apartheid capitalism
Ashwin Desai
Gilbert Achcar