Abstract

This article uses the example of South Africa to explore how inequality, institutions, identity, and polarization interact. The first 15 years of the country’s constitutional democracy was characterized by a virtuous spiral fueled by hope that a thriving, inclusive society was in reach, an embrace of win-win cooperation, and a surge of civic confidence in the legitimacy of the public domain. The next 15 years witnessed rising discontent in response to continuing massive inequality and economic hardship – plus sustained efforts by populist political entrepreneurs to use economic discontent to fuel identity-based polarization and weaken institutions. In both periods, contrary to the either/or discourse of much scholarship, change was fueled by the ways in which economic expectations and identity politics interacted with one another. Renewal of the political center needs both reforms that address economic imbalances and engagement at the level of ideas.