The Idea of Higher Education as an Instrument for Social Mobility and Societal Transformation
On becoming president of democratic South Africa in 1994, Nelson Mandela implored, “Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul hav
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10. THE IDEA OF HIGHER EDUCATION AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY AND SOCIETAL TRANSFORMATION A Critique of Nelson Mandela
INTRODUCTION
On becoming president of democratic South Africa in 1994, Nelson Mandela implored, “Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves” (1994a: paras. 27–30). Elsewhere, he observed that “to be free is …to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others,” and that this was “the true test of our devotion to freedom” (1994b:624–625). This implies a respect for difference, appreciation of diversity, and a powerful commitment to inclusion. He emphasized, “that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people … for the birth of a new world” (1994a: para. 26). Mandela was wont to comment that he moved among people “not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people” (1990: para. 1). Like other luminous leaders, Mandela adhered to “some key fundamental values”, and bequeathed the world a legacy of selfless leadership. He possessed an “egalitarian spirit”, a “generosity of spirit and a common” (Maylam, 2011:10; 270). He had “a sense of obligation to further the common good” and held the conviction that “governments and leaders bear the responsibility to create conditions in which all humans can realize their potential” (Maylam, 2011:8). He believed in the “innate worth and dignity of all human beings”, had “an unwavering commitment to democracy and human rights” and “a determination to pursue and promote social and economic justice” (Maylam, 2011:8, 16, 17). For Mandela, “promoting democracy and human rights meant creating channels of popular participation, and according “proper access of all to education, health care, personal security and justice” (Maylam, 2011:8). The reality is that Mandela’s wonderful ideals have to be pursued in a less than propitious context of the hegemony of the ideology of neo-liberalism, and severe and growing economic inequalities globally and nationally. Neo-liberalism holds that “the social good will be maximized by maximizing the reach and frequency of market transactions, and it seeks to bring all human action into the domain of the market” (Harvey, 2005:3). Importantly, it holds that “if markets do not exist C. Soudien (Ed.), Nelson Mandela, 125–136. © 2017 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
S. BADAT
(in areas such as land, water, education, health care, social security, or environmental pollution) then they must be created, by state action if necessary” (Harvey, 2005:2). Neo-liberal thinking and ideas have come to dominate economic and social policies, institutions, and practices. For one, the conception of development has become essentially economistic and reduced to economic growth and enhanced economic performance. This is to be contrasted with development as “a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy”
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