A vision for social justice in South Africa

At a recent function, I sat next to a woman who had been deeply involved in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle. She spoke with quiet pride about her role in those years, but also with unmistakable disillusionment about what has unfolded in our country over the past three decades. Although she felt personally fulfilled, she was troubled by the distance between the promise of liberation and the lived realities of most South Africans.

Then she asked me a straightforward but somewhat unsettling question, grounded in her ongoing concern for justice in communities: what is your vision of social justice in and for South Africa? I offered a tentative and unsatisfactory response. The question lingered long after the conversation ended.

OnWorld Day of Social Justice, observed annually on 20 February, it feels necessary to think more deeply about what such a vision might require to guide public life. I believe that any credible vision of social justice in South Africa must be pursued largely outside the confines of narrow party-political ideology. It must begin with a decisive shift away from merely managing inequality towards seriously attempting to dismantle it — by all relevant stakeholders.

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After three decades of democracy, justice can no longer be framed as patience or gradual inclusion. It must instead be defined by material transformation and dignified livelihoods. At the heart of my vision lies a commitment to human dignity as lived experience, not merely a constitutional principle.

A socially just South Africa in 2026 and beyond would be one in which no person’s life chances are determined by race, location or inherited poverty. It would be a society where jobs, care and social contribution are valued beyond measures of market productivity, and where poverty is treated as a moral emergency rather than an unfortunate political failure. Justice, in this sense, is not only measured by GDP growth, investor confidence or global rankings — however important these may be.

It is also measured by the absence of humiliation, hunger and preventable suffering. A just society is one in which people are not merely kept alive but are able to thrive with agency and respect. Economic justice is central to any serious vision of social justice.

A just South Africa would be committed to structural economic reform rather than cosmetic inclusion. This includes the redistribution of land and productive assets in ways that genuinely support livelihoods, not just formal ownership. It requires a significant expansion of public employment and care economies that recognise social reproduction — the so-called invisible and intangible contributions that make society function — as essential.

Progressive taxation, effective regulation and a determined effort to curb illicit financial flows are necessary to rebuild the social contract. Equally important is strong support for cooperatives — reinvesting profits locally — small producers and local economies that anchor wealth within communities rather than extracting it. Economic justice here is not charity or trickle-down inclusion but democratic ownership and shared prosperity.

This vision insists on moving from shallow, symbolic forms of reconciliation to material restoration. Although South Africa’s democratic transition avoided large-scale violence, it left deep economic and social wounds largely unaddressed. A socially just future requires institutional accountability and transparency, as well as meaningful reparative measures for victims of apartheid and poor governance over the past two to three decades.

Restorative justice must also be community-centred, through sustained investment in service delivery and in building social infrastructure. Restorative justice should be about acknowledging harm, redistributing resources and rebuilding trust and care. In a just South Africa, justice is spatially visible.

Integrated human settlements should increasingly be the focus, located near economic opportunity and supported by reliable and affordable public transport. All people should have safe, dignified access to water, energy, sanitation and public space. Without social justice, policing alone cannot achieve true safety because crime and insecurity are often rooted in structural inequalities.

Conversely, ineffective or biased policing can undermine both safety and social justice. However, not all crime and violence are solely structurally determined. A just South Africa should be marked by deep democracy, not only periodic elections.

This includes improved local governance, participatory budgeting and meaningful mechanisms for public oversight. Social movements, whistleblowers, journalists and community organisers must be protected, not criminalised.

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