Historical evidence clearly demonstrates and substantiates the fact that when the Nationalist Party assumed power in 1948 it unashamedly, unapologetically and aggressively used the resources of the state to build and grow Afrikaner Capitalism and solve the “POOR WHITES PROBLEM.” This was the consciously adopted ideological agenda of the Nationalist Party under the supervision of the BROEDERBOND. This was without doubt the embodiment and the epitome of WHITE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT.
This must be seen and understood within the context of the historical resentment of the Afrikaner and animosity towards the English which has its roots in their defeat during the Anglo – Boer War. The Afrikaner were very conscious of the dominant status of the English, the unequal distribution of wealth, their inferior status, political domination and fear of cultural assimilation into an English dominated society. All of these factors contributed towards the rise of Afrikaner Nationalism.
According to H. Lawson “…the further progress of Afrikaner capitalism had of necessity to depend on the use of political means for economic ends. The two political trump cards in this game were the numerical superiority of the Afrikaner and the corrosion of his political consciousness by the poison of racialism. Together, they could be used to give the Afrikaner capitalist a position of power in the country which his economic position alone could never give him.”
It is therefore disingenuous and politically dishonest for the beneficiaries of this apartheid socio economic engineering to pretend ignorance of the historical reality of the colonial experience in South Africa and an expression of the historical injustice to claim that the wealth they accumulated was by no means due to the racist economic policies of apartheid. It is a reality that is still a reflection of the two nations that is expressed through high levels of poverty and inequality today. The socio – economic imperatives of social transformation cannot be over emphasised for the future stability and development of the country.
The vocal condemnation of efforts to bring about social transformation and equate it to reverse racism is false.
According to the Free Market Foundation’s Head of Policy, Martin van Staden, “BEE legislation is destructive because it destroys jobs and chases away investment.”
In his seminal and groundbreaking book under the title “INEQUALITY” Sampie Terreblanche draws attention to the fact that the white people
“…should acknowledge explicitly that they have benefited from colonialism, segregation and apartheid and that most black South Africans have been victims of those systems. White South Africans should also show an awareness of the almost insoluble nature of the problems they have bequeathed to the democratically elected government.”
An understanding of the history of South Africa, particularly the period of 1948 after the Nationalist Party assumed power and how the Nationalist Party government used state resources to promote the rise of Afrikaner capitalism and solve the poor whites problem on the back of Afrikaner Nationalism is an absolute necessity.
Once again Lawson describes the kind of narrow Nationalism which was pursued by the Nationalist Party and the Broederbond:
“In order to understand something of the economic forces which find their political expression in the Nationalist Party it is first of all necessary to be clear about the kind of Nationalism that the Nationalist Party represents.
There is a well-known distinction between a broad, humanistic kind of Nationalism that seeks to further the’ well-being of all the people and the narrow, exclusive kind of Nationalism, also known as chauvinism, which seeks to advance the interests of one section of humanity at the expense of everyone else. Obviously, the Nationalism of the Nationalist Party is of the latter variety.
Now, historically, this exclusive kind of Nationalism has always been linked with the growth of a local bourgeoisie, a class of actual or incipient capitalists. Such a class finds in chauvinism a powerful weapon for extending its domain of economic exploitation and for maintaining an Internal market against its rivals.”
Afrikaner Nationalism, as a political ideology, was historically closely intertwined with economic policy to shape the socio-economic landscape of South Africa in favour of the Afrikaner people.
In the context of historical analyses, particularly those focusing on the exclusion of what would be regarded as the other on the grounds of race Afrikaner Nationalism mobilised state resources to promote specific racist socio – economic and political agendas of the Afrikaner people at the expense of the majority of the population.
THE USE OF RELIGION TO JUSTIFY RACIAL POLICIES
In the same vein the leaders of the Nationalist party under the supervision of the Broederbond went further and used religion as justification for their policies. Religion became a cornerstone in constructing, legitimising, and maintaining both racial segregation (Apartheid) and a fiercely exclusive Afrikaner nationalism throughout the 20th century.
By weaving together theological doctrine, historic mythology, and political ambition, religious and political leaders transformed a fragmented group of European descendants into a highly unified Volk (nation) with a perceived divine mandate.
Soon after winning the elections of 1948 under the leadership of D.F Malan former pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church turned politician, the Nationalist Party issued a pamphlet in which it clearly declared its policies of apartheid and defined it as “a concept historically derived from the experience of the established White population of the country, and in harmony with such Christian principles as justice and equity. It is a policy which sets itself the task of preserving and safeguarding the racial identity of the White population of the country…”
Malan believed that the Afrikaners “faced an existential threat of assimilation” and the only way of preserving the “racial purity” of the Afrikaners was through the segregation of the races.
As a former Dutch Reformed Church minister, Malan used religion as a justification for these policies of segregation. In his philosophical and religious justification of apartheid he argued that apartheid as a concept was in harmony with Christian principles of justice. He argued that God had intentionally created different nations and races to remain separate.
The nationalist party’s approach to economic policy was heavily influenced by the desire to empower white communities, thereby creating a distinct economic hierarchy that favoured a particular racial demographic. This alignment of nationalism with economic policy not only reinforced existing societal divides but also institutionalised economic disparities that continue to affect contemporary society.
SOLVING THE POOR WHITES PROBLEM
The other problem confronting the apartheid regime and the Broederbond was how to solve the poor whites problem.
The Nationalist Party addressed the Poor White Problem through what was called Volkskaptalisme (people’s capitalism.) This was an aggressive implementation of the policy of WHITE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT driven by the state.
Simply put, this strategy protected the Afrikaner poor whites from any form of competition particularly from the Black people. It passed laws such as job reservation, expanded public sector employment exclusively for the whites and directing state capital to white businesses.
Concurrently, the state enacted a brutal web of Apartheid legislation that systematically stripped the Black majority of their land, political rights, and freedom of movement to eliminate them as economic competitors and reduce them to cheap, expendable labour.
It is useful to quote the then Minister of Native Affairs Hendrik F. Verwoerd, explaining the apartheid government’s education policy:
“There is no space for him (the black South African) in the European Community above certain forms of labour. For this reason, it is of no avail for him to receive training which has its aim in the absorption of the European Community, where he cannot be absorbed. Until now he has been subjected to a school system which drew him away from his community and misled him by showing him the greener pastures of European Society where he is not allowed to graze.”
It is therefore an undisputed historical fact that the challenges of poverty and inequality that the democratic dispensation is grappling with today are an integral part of the legacy inherited from the system of apartheid.
The apartheid regime deliberately underfunded Black education, prioritizing resources almost exclusively for White schools. Per capita spending on White students was vastly higher than that spent on Black students throughout the apartheid era.
| PER CAPITA EDUCATION SPENDING | |||
| YEAR | WHITE STUDENTS | BLACK STUDENTS | WHITE TO BLACK |
| 1953 | – | – | 7:1 |
| 1969 | – | – | 18:1 |
| 1970 | R191 – R286 | R 14,48 | Up to 20:1 |
| 1982 | R 1211 | R 146 | Appox.8:1 |
| 1989 | R 2,900 | R 650 | Appr. 4,5:1 |
In 2021, economically active white South Africans made up just 8.8% of the total economically active population but held 66.2% of top management positions in the private sector.
In contrast, the share of top management positions held by black South Africans (defined as people designated as African, Coloured and Indian) was 30.7%, even though this group made up 91.2% of the economically active population.
Senior management positions for 2021 have a similar pattern. The report shows that 56.6% of these positions in the private sector are occupied by white South Africans, while black South Africans occupy 40%.
- Average Income Gap: Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) indicates that white-headed households earn an average annual income of R676,375, which is nearly five times higher than the R143,632 average earned by Black African-headed households.
Emerging Parity in Top Brackets: Despite stark structural averages, recent consumer studies from the University of Cape Town’s Liberty Institute show that Black households have reached parity within top-earning tiers.
Specifically, 41% of both Black and white households now occupy the nation’s premier income brackets (households earning more than R75,000 per month.
Poverty continues to disproportionately affect younger South Africans, especially children. Over 71% of the poor in 2023 were under the age of 35, with children aged 0 to 17 years comprising 43,1% of all poor individuals. The report further highlights the strong link between education and poverty status: those with lower education levels recorded significantly higher poverty headcounts compared to those with higher levels of education. Notably, about a quarter of poor adults aged 18 and above have completed matric.
The role of state-sponsored enterprises under apartheid cannot be under estimated when examining the economic empowerment of white communities. These enterprises were often established with the intent of bolstering economic activity within white populations, providing them with access to resources, capital, and opportunities that were systematically denied to others.
Through government grants and subsidies specifically directed towards white-owned businesses, the state effectively created an environment where white entrepreneurs could thrive, often at the expense of marginalised groups. This deliberate economic favouritism illustrates how Afrikaner nationalism mobilised state resources to implement economic policies that prioritised the interests of one group over the majority leading to long-term inequities.
THE AFRIKAANSE HANDELSINSTITUUT (AFRIKAANS COMMERCIAL INSTITUTE
The Afrikaanse Handelsinstittuut was formed during WWII to create Afrikaner businesses and represent their interests in a period when Afrikaners felt dominated by British Capital and were overwhelmed by the English within the economic sphere. The organisation thrived after the war, and grew exponentially, to become a dominant political and economic force in apartheid South Africa.
The foundational economic strategy of the Afrikaner Broederbond and the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut (AHI) to build Afrikaner capital was structured under a socio-economic philosophy known as Volkskapitalisme (People’s Capitalism).
This approach was formally conceptualised at the Ekonomiese Volkskongres (National Economic Congress) in October 1939, the movement sought to mobilise ethnic solidarity to break the hegemony of British imperialism and foreign corporate dominance.
The Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut (AHI) was officially launched in 1942. This was the resolution of the 1939 Ekonomiese Volkskongres (Economic People’s Congress). The aims and objectives of the AHI were very clear and unequivocal. Its founding purpose was to systematically mobilize Afrikaner capital, build an independent Afrikaner business class, and counter the dominant English and British corporate hegemony in South Africa.
In an article published by NEW AGE on the 14th of July 1955 under the heading “THE RISE OF AFRIKANER CAPITALISM” M. Dickson highlights some important facts which are a lesson in how the Nationalist Party used the power of the state to create the necessary conditions for the rise of Afrikaner capitalism.
“From the first, the rising Afrikaner capitalist recognized that as a late arrival on the economic scene
- he could only hope to succeed against his more powerful competitors by making use of political and ideological weapons for economic purposes.
And how well our financial groups have known how to cash in on the nationalistic sentiments of the ordinary Afrikaner!
They have induced him to:
- insure only with Afrikaner insurance companies,
- to bank only with Afrikaner banks,
- to build his home through an Afrikaner building society,
- to patronise Afrikaner shops, as far as possible.
The savings of the poorer sections of the Afrikaner people have played a big role in the financial manipulations of the controlling financiers.
Afrikaner Nationalism of the modern variety has given the ordinary Afrikaner the privilege of being exploited by Afrikaans-speaking financiers instead of only English-speaking ones.
State power in turn assisted in the enormous acceleration of the growth of the leading Afrikaner financial groups.
For, they were now able to:
use the organs of the state itself to further their interests in a thousand ways.
So we now find our friends from Volkskas, SANLAM, SASBANK, Bonus, etc., sitting on the boards of directors of such vital agencies of economic power as the
- National Finance Corporation,
- the Industrial Development Corporation,
- the Atomic Energy Board,
- ISCOR,
- SASOL,
- the National Housing Planning Commission,
- the Electricity Supply Commission and other government bodies.
Many of the economic institutions of the Government have in fact become instruments of expanding Afrikaner capital.”
The victory of the Nationalist Party in 1948 created the necessary conditions for the use of state power to promote the rise of Afrikaner Capitalism.
This was a deliberate and conscious policy of the Nationalist Party which was pursued aggressively under the banner of a state assisted movement called Volkskapitalisme. (People’s Capitalism)
This movement successfully transformed the Afrikaner population from an economically marginalized, largely rural community into a dominant, urbanized capitalist class
This massive economic breakthrough was achieved through the conscious cooperation and collaboration between the apartheid state, the National Party, and the Afrikaner Broederbond.
To the Afrikaner Broederbond (AB)—a powerful, secret nationalist organization—and the contemporary political leadership (such as the National Party), this was not just an economic issue, but a necessary strategic option to counter what they perceived as the existential threat to white political dominance and ethnic survival.
The Broederbond acted as a shadow policymaking think tank, mapping out solutions that political leaders implemented through aggressive state intervention, economic nationalism, and institutionalized racial segregation.
In analysing the impact of these nationalist economic policies, it is essential to consider the narratives constructed and propagated through media channels. The manipulation of economic narratives served to normalise and legitimise the preferential treatment of white communities, crafting a public perception that aligned with nationalist ideals.
Case studies of successful white entrepreneurs, often highlighted in media, further reinforced the notion that economic success was inherently tied to racial identity. Such narratives obscured the real impact of state-sponsored support and fostered a societal environment where economic disparities were not only accepted but also celebrated as a natural outcome of individual effort and enterprise.
The historical context of Afrikaner Nationalism and how it was used to mobilise Afrikaner cultural, linguistic and the pride of the Afrikaner as a people is pivotal in understanding how such ideologies have shaped economic policies of the Nationalist Party and the Broederbond.
Afrikaner Nationalism is a product of the convergence of complex multiple factors born out of their animosity of British imperialism and a superiority complex over Black people which itself was a product of pseudo-scientific and false interpretation of religion.
The Nationalist Party used the imagined threat such as “DIE SWART GEVAAR” to appeal to the emotional sentiments of the Afrikaner people to the agenda of racial domination and the perpetuation of the subjugation of the majority of the people.
Naturally this appealed to the sentiments of the Afrikaner people who were persuaded to believe that this is necessary to preserve and assert their identity and control over resources, which frequently led to the prioritisation of their interests over those of the majority of the population. This focus on a particular demographic was justified by the narrative of economic empowerment, which was selectively distributed among the nation’s citizens.
In the case of WHITE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, the Nationalist Party employed state resources to reinforce their political agendas. This included the establishment of state-sponsored enterprises that favoured white communities, which were often portrayed as crucial for national development.
The government’s role in allocating resources contributed to the economic disparities that would persist in the society. Consequently, these enterprises not only provided jobs but also reinforced the socio-economic status of white individuals, further entrenching the existing inequalities.
In a paper by H. Lawson under the title “THE ECONOMIC BASIS OF AFRIKANER NATIONALISM” he points out the rapid rise of Afrikaner Capitalism and he makes the following observation:
“The rate of development of Afrikaner capitalism in the decade 1939/40 was considerably greater than the rate of development of the economy as a whole.
According to the figures supplied by A. J. Bosman in a volume entitled “Die Triomf van Nationalisme”, the total turnover of Afrikaans business undertakings increased from:
- 5% of the national total in 1939 to 11% of the national total in 1949.
- In that decade the number of Afrikaans industrial undertakings rose from 1239 to 3385 and the number of commercial undertakings from 2428 to 9585.
- The total turnover of Afrikaans industrial undertakings increased from £6 million to £44 million and of commercial undertakings from £38 million to £204 million.
- By 1949 Afrikaner capitalists were estimated to be in control of 6% of the country’s industry and 25 to 30% of its commerce (Volkshandel, Sept. 1950).
- In the same period, according to Prof. Pauw, the number of Afrikaner directors and manufacturers increased by 295%, of business managers by 208% and of traders by 212%.
- In 1939 Afrikaners formed 3% of the directors, 8% of the business managers and 4% of the traders among the white urban population, but in 1949 these proportions had increased to 5%, 15% and 10% respectively.
Lawson continues:
While the Afrikaner share in industry and commerce has remained more or less constant, their share in finance, the most vital sector of modern capitalist economy, has been growing steadily. …Dr. M. S. Louw, himself one of the most prominent Afrikaner financiers, estimated their share in the country’s insurance business at 16% and in banking at 8%. The Reddingsdaadbond, however, puts the latter, figure at 10%.
In looking at the rise of Afrikaner Capitalism through the use of state resources it is unavoidable that we should also pay particular attention to the financial sector particularly the birth of Volkskas in 1935.
Volkskas evolved from a small Afrikaner cooperative bank in 1935 into one of South Africa’s “Big Four” commercial institutions, culminating in a 1991 merger that established the Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA). Today, Absa Group Limited is a major financial conglomerate listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). It possesses a robust capital structure, maintaining 894.38 million issued ordinary shares and an overall market capitalization fluctuating between R192 billion and R209 billion.
The idea of establishing an Afrikaner bank was mooted by Joseph Jacobus Bosman. He had been turning the idea around in his mind from 1921 before he approached the Afrikaner Broederbond to put his idea in motion.
At the Economic Volkskongress held in Kimberley in October 1934, the participants agreed that Afrikaners would not achieve independence and self-sufficiency unless they acquired economic power, and Volkskas was from the beginning motivated by a purely nationalistic set of concerns.
Before the congress, on 12 August 1933, the Broederbond decided to appoint a committee to explore the notion of establishing a savings bank, and Bosman was appointed to head the committee.
The committee made its report to the Broederbond on 3 March 1934, deciding in favour of establishing a people’s savings bank, a cooperative.
According to Grietjie Verhoef,: ‘The reason for this strategy was that a financial institution was needed to help individuals, especially Afrikaners, who could not be accommodated at existing banks or financial institutions. The underlying philosophy for a cooperative people’s bank was that an institution of that nature, functioning countrywide, would be invaluable to the resolution of the poor white problem, since cooperative institutions would help people to stand on their own legs and help themselves.’
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