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My main research over the years was to try to understand the impact on South Africa's economic development of Nationalism, which has been the dominant political force in South Africa during the last 110 years since the British handed over power to a South African administration in 1910 at the creation of the Union of South Africa.
Since then South Africa has been dominated by two Nationalisms. Afrikaner Nationalism, which dominated the country's politics between 1910 and 1994. African Nationalism, which has controlled the government for 25 years since 1994.
The difference between the two Nationalisms was not that one was white and the other black. The Afrikaner Nationalist elite were a coalition of land owners who produced maize, wheat, fruit, wine, sugar and beef.
This elite used the mining industry and the export of mineral resources to fund the state which it used to drive the development and profitability of their private property.
The African Nationalist elite are a coalition of black middle class professionals and traders, organised labour, civil society and faith-based organisations and intelligentsia. As this elite did not own land or any other means of production its priority in its control of the state is to live off state revenues through taxing the economy and the wealthy.
