Conference on the socio-economic trends and policies in southern Africa

Abstract

The paper examines the development of South African imperialism we shall concentrate on its dynamics and mechanisms as well as its effects on the imperialized countries and on South Africa itself. Imperialism can be defined as the external expansion of capitalism beyond its national territorial boundaries in an effort to solve its internal crisis which have become an obstacle in its fundamental aim of maximization of private profits. Capitalism is a socio-economic system whose' motive force is the production of surplus value and its appropriation by the capitalist class. It is a system based on private ownership of the means of production and the exploitation of wage labour and the main classes in this socio-economic system are capitalists and workers, the former owning the means of production (capital) and the latter only owning labour power which is to be exploited by capital. In the case of South African capitalism labour to be exploited by capital is non migrant and migrant, the latter retains limited means of production in the reserves (Bantustans).