The original impetus for Spro-cas was given by the Message to the People of South Africa, issued in September 1968 by the Theological Commission of the South African Council of Churches. the committees have been consulted and their contributions have contributed significantly to the depth of the work of the committees. Spro-cas is now approaching a position to anticipate the publication of the final reports of the six committees.
As a preliminary to these reports, it has been decided to issue a series of occasional Spro-cas publications containing some of the working papers prepared for the commissions. THE PAPERS in this publication were written as working papers for the Social Commission of the Study Project on Christianity in the Apartheid Society. Together with many other documents prepared for Spro-cas, they warrant wider publication in view of the valuable knowledge and information they contain.
In all four chapters, the emphasis is on the relationship between group members and the wider society. Among the Afrikaners there are the Verligte who 'scrupulously seek to adapt themselves to the demands of the age' and the Verkramptes who 'pursue impossible ideals and principles'.
INDIAN PEOPLE
CURRENT TRENDS AND POLICIES fatima meer
From the Department of Education, Arts and Science it took over the administration of the University College for Indians, the M.L. The Minister appoints a chairman of the executive committee from among the five executive members. The differences in the status and powers of the Indian and of the Colored and Transkei councilors are great at the moment.
The Council of South African Indians, as the supreme national political body of the Indian people, is supplemented by local ones. Problems arising from the application of the Group Areas Act take up the most of the council's time. While other social and economic circumstances also contributed to the changing importance of trade in the Indian community, the effect of the Group Areas Act was the most immediate and drastic.
In contrast, the Indian trade employed a large proportion of the Indian population; in 1960, out of 27,484 esti-. Much of the burden of developing the group's new areas falls on white local authorities. The installment system has become a feature of Indian life and the attitude of the young, unmarried person towards his earnings is changing.
Stated by the Minister of Indian Affairs at the Inaugural Meeting of the Indian Council of South Africa, F i a t Lux, May 1966, p.
THE AFRIKANER
CONTEMPORARY ATTITUDES w.a. de klerk
It is precisely this attribute of practicality ('n boer maak 'n plan') that finally distinguishes the pioneering movement of the Great Journey of 1836 from the pioneering movement of the Thirstland Journey of the 1870s. So it was the practical sense of the Afrikaner, the respect his for life, in a manner of speaking, self-affirmation. The story of the Thirstlanders and their passionate search for a state of definitive Calvinistic happiness, i.e.
In this deadly isolation, mesmerized by a sense of mission (a messianic sense has always characterized man who pursues his impossible ideal of fulfillment, identity, security, etc.), the Thirstlander is finally led to what is the denial of his pursuit. In the case of the Great Trek, however, a real sense of what life itself required (as opposed to principles) decided. In the case of the Thirstlanders, the principle, the 'lifes and the world's concern', went on and on and on - to the final absurdity.
Verligte is a Great Traveller, who has discerned the noise and fury (or emptiness) of certain fundamentals (principles) and seeks to adapt them to the demands of the age. This means that he is increasingly divorcing himself from the life that is 20th century South Africa. The Afrikaner is discovering that he is the new Imperial Factor in Southern Africa, and many are not happy about it.
The Calvanist fundamentalism of the Afrikaner (Enlightened and Constricted) is built around the concept of Divine Ordination, that is to say it is determinism in an extreme form and no amount of rationalization will accommodate it for the free intelligence of man. He becomes aware of the fact that ethics has everything to do with a living experience and nothing to do with a principle.
The ideal, when achieved, like the Great Men's Whale or the Thiistlander's Bestcmming, turns out to be death itself. Whether fundamentalist attachment to principles will prove too strong is difficult to say. Should it prove to be too strong, there is only one end in sight: Tragedy.
THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WHITES
As far as English-speaking South Africans are concerned, the Nationalist government was very intelligent in maintaining many forms of the Westminster Parliament *, most English-speaking South Africans unthinkingly assume that if a parliamentary government works, all must be well. I mention this matter not because I think it would now be possible, or even valuable, to reproduce anything of the kind, but to illustrate what seems to me a characteristic tendency of English-speaking South Africans: to reject enthusiasm, and to be considerate of society except in very special circumstances. There are, of course, other reasons why English-speaking white South Africans should be uncommitted, insecure and uncreative as far as the common life of South Africa is concerned.
Although the Empire in its old form is gone, many white English-speaking South Africans feel aware, consciously or subconsciously, that they have cousins or second cousins in other parts of the world. There can be little doubt that in the last eight or nine years, white English-speaking Africans have become more involved with South Africa and are less conscious of their British connections. Moreover, it must of course be acknowledged and emphasized that in many respects English-speaking South Africans are subject to the same temptations, pressures, challenges and illusions as all other white South Africans; it would be a mistake to overemphasize the uniqueness of their situation or their feelings.
I decided to say very little about the attitudes of different groups and classes of English-speaking South Africans. However, I must say a little about the more thoughtful parts of English-speaking white South Africa. Much of the relatively small amount of liberalism and racial openness that existed among whites was found in the English-speaking community.
Certain elements in the four English-speaking universities, in the English-language newspapers, in some of the professions (especially perhaps the legal profession) and in the predominantly English-speaking churches have been notable at times. What is perhaps a fairly typical, not very thoughtful English-speaking white South African view of apartheid. It is hardly necessary for me to add that part of South Africa's liberalism is found in English-speaking white people who are followers of the Jewish faith or who are non-religious humanists).
Religious belief seems to me one of the few channels - and certainly the most profound and intimately important channel - through which the English-speaking South African can be challenged in his habitual inertia. After mentioning the channels through which English-speaking South Africans can be challenged, I must say something about economics and commerce. South Africa's economy - which many English-speaking South Africans have of course always been very preoccupied with - precisely because of its energy and 'upward trend', certain aspects of apartheid seem irritating, unacceptable and even absurd.
The 1969 election can only be understood in light of the complicated political history of black people. With the formation of the Representative Council of Colored People, Union Council I was abolished in 1969. Swartz was able to give publicity to his party * while performing his official duties as chairman of the Colored Council.
In the physically vast but numerically small constituencies of the Northern Cape and the Free State, organizations and finances were decisive. Fortein, the Cape leader and general secretary of the party, has long been a protagonist of the view that the colored people should be a nation. This argument, and the traditional boycott that resulted from the inauguration of the first Colored Advisory Council in 1943, swayed many people in the Cape Town I area.
The concerns of the poorer populations are immediate rather than long-term. Heavy drinking is probably the most common of all social problems in all walks of life of people of color. The frustration of the political goals of the colored people (the primary goal was political integration with the whites) in the 1950s was.
In some respects, the black people of the Western Cape are now benefiting from apartheid. Most black people speak Afrikaans as their first language, but few speak it very well. In keeping with the view that lightness of skin is indicative of other virtues, the attitude of black people towards Africans has.
It is difficult to argue that the injustices one suffers from should only be lifted from oneself, and left to the Africans, but it is clear that I am in the best short-term interest of the colored people. Attitudes towards whites depend very much on the social position of the individual and the various groups within the colored people as a whole. Such behavior, while readily understood in the context of their social situation, creates bitter resentment among those on the brown side of the crucial boundary of classification.
The improvement in working conditions and the bargaining position of many workers due to the labor shortage in the Western Cape and the packing of the C.P.R.C. The success of the Labor Party at the polls and the slight setback the National Party received in the White election has suggested that the government need not do that.
