scholarly journals Should 1974 be considered a watershed year in the economic history of the world?

1980 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
G. Jan Hupkes

The early 1970s marked a turning point in mankind's economic fortunes and the author takes 1974 as an 'artificial' vantage point from which to look back, but also forward. Several forces led to the shocks of the seventies: the breaking down in the discipline of the international payments system, rising inflation, the oil crisis, the West's loss of strategic military initiative to the East. The author outlines what ought to be done to improve the economic outlook for the 1980s: The international payments system must be placed on a more stable and disciplined footing, inflation must be controlled by balancing of national budgets, the energy crisis must be contained by reduction of oil consumption via the price mechanism. In South Africa the economic watershed year was 1976; two years later than that of the world economy in general. Since then a policy of strict financial discipline has led to a record surplus in balance of payments, which together with new emphasis on the importance of the free market mechanism and increasing energy self-sufficiency, promises a better economic future for South Africa than for many other countries.Die vroee 1970s was 'n keerpunt in die mensdom se ekonomiese lotgevalle en die skrywer neem 1974 as 'n 'kunsmatige' uitsigpunt vanwaar hy terug kyk, maar ook vorentoe. Verskeie magte het gelei tot die skokke van die sewentigs: die aftakeling van die dissipline van die internasionale betalingstelsel, stygende inflasie, die oliiekrisis, en die Weste se afstand van strategiese militere inisiatief aan die Ooste. Die skrywer dui aan wat gedoen moet word om die ekonomiese vooruitsigte vir die 1980s te verbeter: Die internasionale betalingstelsel moet op 'n meer stabiele en gedissiplineerde grondslag geplaas word, inflasie moet deur die balansering van nasionale begrotings beheer word, die energiekrisis moet via die prysmeganisme deur verminderde olieverbrulk beteuel word. In Suid-Afrika was die ekonomiese waterskeidingsjaar 1976; twee jaar later as die van die wereld-ekonomie in die algemeen. Sedertdien het 'n beleid van streng finansiele dissipline gelei tot 'n rekord surplus op die betalingsbalans, wat saam met nuwe klem op die belangrikheid van die vrye markmeganisme en toenemende energie-selfvoorsiening, 'n bater ekonomiese toekoms vir Suid-Afrika as vir baie ander lande beloof.

1980 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-53
Author(s):  
D. J. Kotzé

Energy as a strategic resource has become a crucial world issue, to sustain future economic growth and survival. The world depends for 95% of its total energy demand, on fossil fuel, supplies of which are limited, while world energy demand is increasing steadily along with population and economic growth. The West depends heavily on oil from the Middle East, and this has placed OPEC countries in a position to demand a twentyfold increase in crude oil prices in nine years. Alternative energy sources are discussed, but the world is still heading for a crisis due to imbalance between energy supply and demand. The energy situation in South Africa differs somewhat because local coal provides 80% of total energy requirements, and stringent conservation measures have achieved large reductions in oil consumption, while uranium, electricity generation and oil-from-coal technologies make the country less vulnerable than most other western countries.Energie as 'n strategiese hulpbron het wereldwyd krities geword, om toekomstige ekonomiese groei en oorlewing te verseker. Vir 95% van sy totale energieverbruik is die wereld afhanklik van fossielbrandstof, waarvan voorrade beperk is, terwyl die wereldvraag na energie steeds met bevolkings- en ekonomiese groei styg. Die Weste moet na die Midde-Ooste opsien vir olie, en dit het OPEC-lande in staat gestel om ruoliepryse in nege jaar twintigvoudig te verhoog. Alternatiewe energiebronne word bespreek, maar die wereld stuur steeds af op 'n krisis weens wanbalans tussen energievraag en -aanbod. Die energiesituasie in Suid-Afrika verskil ietwat omdat plaaslike steenkool 80% van totale energie benodig, verskaf, terwyl streng besparingsmaatreels groot vermindering in olieverbruik meegebring het, en uraan-, elektrisiteit- en olie-uitsteenkool-tegnologiee die land minder kwesbaar maak as meeste ander Westerse lande.


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ratele

This article seeks to understand the routes to, and pasts, possibilities and forms of, the interior world of the African or black person in its relations to the politics and economy of superiority and separation. The world that is explored is primarily sexual, and therefore, incorporates embodied life, but of necessity widens to include affective, cognitive, and purposeful aspects. In the face of the scarcity of scholarly psychological literature in the area of the intimate lives of black individuals, particularly when seen against the backcloth of colonial and apartheid arrangements, the article begins by arguing for the importance of turning to other, imaginative, sources for help in trying to comprehend African interiors. It then turns to meanings of intimacy on which interiority is indexed, going on to discuss the notion in relation to the social, political and economic history of South Africa, while taking in the notion of soul along the way. Next, the interest of colonial and apartheid regimes in intimacy is traced, showing that this interest stretched beyond interpersonal relations to the very calculus of discrimination and domination. The article concludes by urging African scholars to take black inner life a little more seriously and without abandoning creativity, still locating such efforts within radical and ethical theoretical frameworks.


Author(s):  
Thomas Borstelmann

This book looks at an iconic decade when the cultural left and economic right came to the fore in American society and the world at large. While many have seen the 1970s as simply a period of failures epitomized by Watergate, inflation, the oil crisis, global unrest, and disillusionment with military efforts in Vietnam, this book creates a new framework for understanding the period and its legacy. It demonstrates how the 1970s increased social inclusiveness and, at the same time, encouraged commitments to the free market and wariness of government. As a result, American culture and much of the rest of the world became more—and less—equal. This book explores how the 1970s forged the contours of contemporary America. Military, political, and economic crises undercut citizens' confidence in government. Free market enthusiasm led to lower taxes, a volunteer army, individual 401(k) retirement plans, free agency in sports, deregulated airlines, and expansions in gambling and pornography. At the same time, the movement for civil rights grew, promoting changes for women, gays, immigrants, and the disabled. And developments were not limited to the United States. Many countries gave up colonial and racial hierarchies to develop a new formal commitment to human rights, while economic deregulation spread to other parts of the world, from Chile and the United Kingdom to China. Placing a tempestuous political culture within a global perspective, this book shows that the decade wrought irrevocable transformations upon American society and the broader world that continue to resonate today.


1990 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Barbezat ◽  
Rondo Cameron

2021 ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Bill Freund ◽  
Vishnu Padayachee

This chapter addresses the unfolding economic history of South Africa in the apartheid era (1948–94). The chapter is organized according to a periodization with 1971–73 as a marker of the break, and along specific thematic lines. These include a discussion of the way in which this history has been studied and through what theoretical lenses, before engaging with the main issues, including the impact of Afrikaner nationalism on economic growth, the way in which the minerals energy sector, which dominated early perspectives of South African economic history and perspectives, is impacted in this era of National Party rule. An analysis of the role of one major corporation (Anglo American Corporation) in shaping this economic history is followed by an assessment of the impact of the global and local crisis after c.1970 on the South African economy. An abiding theme is that of race and economic development and the way in which the impact of this key relationship of apartheid South Africa on economic growth has been studied.


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