Shane Moran - Alternation Journal
Shane Moran - Alternation Journal
Shane Moran - Alternation Journal
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Two Women C'vitics cindSo~lth Apiccin English Literary Studies<br />
ofr!npuhlishcd piays, novels, andpoems. In 1960, she and her family were forced to<br />
to England. wilere she remained in exile until herdeatll'.<br />
Whercas Van Heyningen's notion of democracy is often unconnected to t<br />
in sweet reasonableness. in petitions and table conferences. in changing the<br />
ilidividual hearts ofopprcsso~-s. And it is afaith that dies hard (1 942,;: 13).<br />
social reality it ptirporis to describe, Taylor's understanding of politics displays a stro ile Olive Schreiner rnay be forgiven for her turn-of-the-century optimism<br />
sense oi'the racial basis of South African society, drawing attention to the gap betwe<br />
liberal ideals and material reality. South Africa is described as<br />
cerning what the liberal spirit might achieve,<br />
... time has conclusively, ruthlessly proved the baukruptcy of liberalism to<br />
a society wherc thc ruling class is a privileged minority planted on the hack<br />
of a concluered and oppressed people and sucking from then1 its wealth and<br />
polvcr(1913d:12).<br />
stem tlie tide of political events. Such tliorns as it might have fancied itself<br />
as inflicting on tlie rhinoceros hide of govern~iients have been brushed aside<br />
like thistledown (1 942e: 13).<br />
in Goth kfrrca, astde from inequalities in the judiciany, the growth of anti-Semitl<br />
anit poc\l ecmom~c cond~tions, raclst legislat~on such as the Colour Rar 4ct and<br />
Masters mcl Servants Act are a f~~rther 'blot on the dernocral~c page of our statute ho<br />
(19 l!c 7) 9hectinttnues,<br />
or is in broad agreement with the perceived need to foster a more crit~cal and<br />
pendent public sphere in South Africa, and echoes Van Heyningen's ernphasrs on<br />
llnportance of education Discussing the South Afiican education system, 'Taylor<br />
ses anxieties concerning the cultural phllistmism, intellectual docllrty and<br />
al apathy of increasing numbers of South Africans. Th~s she attributes, In part, to<br />
1 '?L ivlIi hat11 L ZL'~ Ilii ULi1l1~ iZ1-p1i~it ntatir)ll isril tile i ?nii ALI 1nt1 illc<br />
' I c 1 ire 1 iiilf glc>i ~1 Jrixni of il~r ~IIIICI~?/L\ 0; (ICI-?OLI~C><br />
r1t1 c i i ? l - ~ ~ 11% ~ t l ,) ~ t r1r~IJ1i :~*ypoIt( rr< ~II*II\LII~S~ tlic~icil~\ L pi~t ~ftl:r D ~ ) I I ~ J ~<br />
:~I~I c, >,*.ii life Tit ~ I ? Y c?rn~nuirit) biilri.( i:rtiii~ny ti1 ii Iic ic vitally iniport 11'11<br />
* 3 ~ L L O I I ~ ~ ~ (10 I ~ \ lL I L 7) ~ ~ L ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~<br />
authorltariall school sy~tein based on rote leanilng and the examinat~on method<br />
ylor's fears about 'the lure of tlie penny dreadful', and her arguments about the<br />
cesslty of 'tramed judgement' (1940b 14) bear the d~stlnct~ve Influence of the<br />
lvtiny posrtlon However, it 1s not the decline of the 'oiganic communrty' that she<br />
rs, but the political consequences of publlc 'suggestlblltty and ~gnorance' (1 94le 6)<br />
he face of rncreasingly sophist~cated techniques ofmass persuasion She argues<br />
'\ *!I, I: i i b rwd an ccoir:)rnic, incquallty With ~ri I ldss baric' shc iiigucc, 'boul We do not want a nat~on ot doc~le, reg~me~lted men and women unable to<br />
thlnA fot themselves. unable to ludge betlveen tlie true and tlie false They<br />
p~ovrde all evcellcnt seed-ground fo~ the Fascist ~deology and Fasc~st<br />
21 ~)~ri):lllc r!eeds, she questiollr tilt Iil?cfnl hel~cf in the rn~lolabrl~ty of riidivrd~idl hi1<br />
1~2lit\ nnii itecdom.; 111 a capitallit system, pointing orit that thr II~~~VI(!U~I u<br />
methods. fo~ goose-stepp~ng and rac~al van~ty, to1 Intolerance and the<br />
dol la try of Fuhrers, fhotball captarns and film stars (1941 d 7)<br />
(d~~t~~l!vn at the inclcy of thc rn-ipersonal force\ of a vast 'state machine' (1 919<br />
fi~al \OLI~! cotlb~n'-~is IC achieved hy srrbiier -hut no leis citect~vc -foi!ni of ctat<br />
L D iLICv1 ~<br />
rmed with the crltical skills acquired in an educat~on which fosters ~ndependent<br />
ought, the South African cltlzen will be able to successfully negotiate the modern<br />
enace of both advertiser and propagandist. In addltlon, South Afrlcan chlldt en wlll be<br />
1'1 ~1115:t pi. to :j~ti:itiori~, (xi io~~al li~itl~r and IIIC sitnteglci thlo\li;il kthlch ade fit both 'to take thelr place in society and ... to change rt where ~t 1s rotten'<br />
940b.14) Taylor, however, adds an important qualrficatlon to the argument that<br />
LOII~I~IC itself to ah5tr'lct norions ofde~nocincq, dnd ~ts tail~rre to develop its nqsul ion can achieve social change. In response to the demand that training in<br />
111to ~ on~~ete political teims Olive Schi elncr's early liberal hopes, for exam ratrc cltizenshrp should begin 111 schools, she argues that these attempts at<br />
ezpollslrig 'the all too famrlrarly vague terms of "the welfare and happiness of or~n-worthwhile in themselves-are nevertheless based on the assumptron that<br />
iis a whole"' (l912e 13), ale understood as exceptional ~n thclr dema school exrsts in a vacuum whereas rt 1s an inseparable part of a social and econolnlc<br />
ul~rcsirr~led franch~se Finally, wh~le shc aclulowledges the need fo~ a mole vlgoro tem' (19411 9). Present econornrc and soclal inequalitres already dlctate that only a<br />
cl lilcal and ~ndependcnt publrd sphere, she argues that a llberdl taith In such channel ileged few wtll benefit from these reforms Furtheimole, alef fully lnstllled<br />
social reiolm ai d free preys, parllamentdry representation and political tiansparenc emocratic principles will be at odds with<br />
mlsplacecl<br />
, .<br />
I hc iiRri-a1 knows tlie non-L:uropean is not gctting a squal-c den1 and I-enlises<br />
an econolnic and social world where the ideals ofjustice and cq~iality . . . a!-e<br />
at a discount; wherc deeds and words stand at opposite poles; where the<br />
that a cliangc is imperative. if While as well as Black and C:oloui.cd are to<br />
siirvivc. Fcaring both catastrophe and violent charlge, he has a nriglity faith<br />
dignity of the i~idividual and the dignity of labour are fictiou and not fact