This paper was written for a Social Empowerment class, in response to the statement that Social empowerment can only happen when everyone has a job:

“Social empowerment can only happen if everybody has a job.”

It cannot be denied that social empowerment and economic empowerment are entwined and essential processes but they can, and often do, take place separately. Social empowerment is about people’s perception of their own abilities, especially their ability to improve their quality of life. Having a job or another source of income is an important part of this but it is not the only factor.

I read an article today about Hamilton Naki, the so-called ‘gardener’ who helped Christiaan Barnard with his ground breaking open-heart surgery. Hearing about the way this man’s skills and ability had to be hidden because of apartheid made me think about the way that people, whole nations and the entire continent of Africa, have been disempowered slowly and powerfully over hundreds of years. This process went beyond simply removing their means of making a living. A great part of it was about stripping them of the belief that they could make a living and this had longer lasting effects than taking the tools out of their hands.

Social empowerment is a complex process because it cannot be achieved by returning to the people what has been taken away from them or what they have never known. In South Africa giving people freedom from apartheid did not free their minds and spirits. This applies to all people: black, white, coloured and Indian. The process of talking about the past and allowing people to recognize and deal with their experience of apartheid is an important step towards teaching them how to empower themselves. Black economic empowerment gives people jobs but it is the opportunity and the recognition of ability that it awards people that plays an important role in empowering them.

I believe that apartheid also disempowered the people that were seen to benefit from it. White, or ‘previously advantaged’, people also need to adjust their perceptions of themselves and the world around them in order to be involved productively in the process of developing their own communities and the country as a whole. Empowerment and development are not only for the economically poor but must include all aspects of society in order to be effective and sustainable.

This paper is not attempting to downplay the role of economic empowerment in social empowerment. Being able to provide for oneself and one’s family is an important part of people’s perceptions of themselves and this need must be met in order for people to develop themselves personally. Whether economic or social empowerment must come first could become a long-winded debate that detracts from the real issue at hand. There are strong arguments both ways. I would simply say that both are essential and they must be enabled when and where possible as matters of priority.

Social and economic empowerment are important aspects of development and they may be seen as microcosms of the development process. In many spheres development is seen as being a purely economic endeavor but the social and more ‘human’ part of it is being highlighted more and more. It is the same with empowerment. One aspect cannot and should not happen without the other.