Debt and the Cost of Neoliberal Austerity: A Study of Social Reproduction in South Africa
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article discusses the South African government’s austerity approach to budgeting and sovereign debt (historical and current) regarding its impact on social reproduction through a Marxian Feminist lens, showing how debt was accumulated to perpetuate a racialized and patriarchal capitalist order. The article argues that since the transition to democracy in 1994, the inherited apartheid system has mutated to the government adopting neoliberal austerity-minded policies limiting resource allocation and preventing it from adequately addressing the legacy of apartheid and meeting the basic needs of the majority. This approach has hindered efforts to build a post-apartheid developmental state and engender state capacity. The article highlights how South Africa continues to implement self-imposed austerity despite not being subjected to International Monetary Fund or World Bank programs, demonstrating the supranational power of neoliberal policies sustaining capitalism.
Source: Feminist Economics
Authors: Busi Sibeko, Tshepo Moloi, Seeraj Mohamed
Institutions: University of London, Government of South Africa
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7162467995