Countries have national cultures, which include dominant shared collective behaviours, attitudes, values and beliefs – in similar ways, organisations have organisational cultures.
National cultures determine what citizens see as acceptable behaviour for themselves, fellow citizens and leaders. A country’s national culture determines what behaviour citizens will tolerate from others, how they engage with others, and how they exercise their responsibilities.
A country’s national culture is almost like a national personality, which many outsiders to the country would observe. National cultures often distinguish one country from another.
National cultures become collective or communal as a result of how citizens are socialised in families, communities and institutions – whether school, traditional institutions, workplaces or political parties.
South Africa is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Within national cultures, particularly in diverse societies, such as South Africa, there are also different group or communal sub-national cultures, whether ethnic, traditional, regional or political, adhering to group-specific behaviours, beliefs and values.
Within a country’s national culture is mass culture – which larger numbers of people follow, and within diverse societies, there are also mass cultures within subcultures.
A key component of a country’s national culture is the political culture of the country. A country’s political culture determines how people behave as political citizens, the kind of political parties and leaders they support, how they interact with government and how they see their roles as citizens.
Cultural cues
People get their cues for national, mass or political cultures from the history of their groups, their families, communities, schools, from political movements – in the case of highly politicised countries such as South Africa, from common media outlets.
Before the mass media and digital eras, people got their culture from their local communities. Although in many parts of South Africa, people still get their mass culture from the common culture of their village or township, in our times, people increasingly get their information from the digital sphere, whether from X (Twitter) or Facebook.
National cultures can either promote development, democracy and social peace or undermine these. Violent, anti-business, ideological and religious fundamentalist, corrupt, lack of care for others, and poor accountability national cultures undermine development, democracy and social peace.
Over South Africa’s history, the country has had many “national” cultures and subcultures, whether communal, regional or ethnic. Nevertheless, in spite of the presence of sub-national cultures, across South Africa, there are some key overlapping characteristics which make up the country’s national culture.
Some countries’ national cultures are highly individualistic, like the US, where individuals largely navigate life without the state’s involvement. Some national cultures embrace individual opportunities through entrepreneurship and the creation of businesses, while others see the state as the pathway to opportunities.
Other national cultures, for example, many African ones, are more communal, where the individual is seen as integrally part of family and communities.
Some national cultures, like the Japanese, are polite, respectful and considerate of others. During one of the recent Fifa World Cup tournaments, after their team’s game, Japanese supporters famously cleaned the areas where they were seated.
Some national cultures highly value individual accountability by elected and public officials. For example, in Japan, public and private individuals who are implicated in wrongdoing often resign of their own accord.
In Switzerland, individual responsibility to act civilly, follow communal rules and treat others and the environment with respect are foundations of the country’s national culture. Countries like Singapore, Switzerland and Germany have a strong emphasis on order, respect and punctuality.
Diversity
The embrace of racial, ethnic or language diversity is a key part of the political culture of countries such as Mauritius and Switzerland. Switzerland has four languages with a mix of different traditions, values and customs. Mauritius is also described as a “rainbow nation”, and is a multiethnic, multilingual and plural democracy.
In Switzerland, the country pursues “neutrality” as the central tenet of its national culture. In some national cultures, like Australia, sport is one of the fundamental unifying symbols.
Some cultures embrace violence to deal with family, communal or political conflicts. In countries that fought violent liberation struggles, post-liberation societies often hero-worship violence and leaders who express violent rhetoric to solve political problems, voting such leaders into power while ignoring leaders who are peaceful. In such societies, those who are the most violent dominate political, social and economic power.
Similarly, some national cultures tolerate unruliness. Many national cultures tolerate corruption. Some national cultures are dominated by religious, traditional and/or political fundamentalism – whether communism or African socialism.
Sometimes the political culture of a country totally dominates the national culture. Political culture is the shared political attitudes, values and practices common to large numbers of citizens of the country.
In some countries, national political cultures see the state as the provider of citizen welfare, or see business in a negative light.
The constitution, democracy, the market economy and entrepreneurship are fundamental, for example, to the US. In many countries in northern Europe, particularly Scandinavia, the welfare state is a key part of the political culture of the country. In Germany, the social market is fundamental to the country’s national culture.
In some countries, such as Switzerland and Germany, coalition government – including the widest numbers of political parties and interests in government – is part of the country’s political culture. In Japan, a social pact government, where governments govern in social pacts with organised and civil society, is a key part of the country’s national culture.
Given South Africa’s diversity and diverse past, the country over time has had many political cultures – whether during colonialism, apartheid or homeland “national” political cultures. South Africa’s different colonial governments – whether Dutch or British, had different political cultures. The apartheid era of the National Party had its own apartheid political culture.
The ANC, as a liberation movement in opposition to colonialism and apartheid, had its own political subculture. The ANC, when it became South Africa’s governing party, transferred its own long-standing political culture, its party practices, behaviours and ways of doing, to large parts of South African politics, government and society.
Part of South Africa’s post-apartheid political culture is that many people still vote based on colour, apartheid-era political allegiances and ethnicity, rather than on competence. Colour and past apartheid allegiances are in many instances more important than whether a person is corrupt or incompetent – as long as the person is from the same colour, incompetence or corruption will be overlooked.
Political leaders who shout slogans, sing “Struggle” songs, issue violent threats against “enemies”, are anti-business and/or use the state for all transformation, are embraced.
Leaders who are more prudent, more pragmatic, more fact-based and are more authentically genuine, who do not shout slogans or outdated rhetoric, and who eschew violence, are often not seen as worth embracing.
Individual or collective accountability is also clearly not an important part of SA’s political culture. But protests are a big part of SA’s political culture. Violent protests, destruction of public assets and hurting others in protests are not seen as bad when protests are supposedly for a “good” cause. Individual or collective accountability is not an important part of our political culture.
Although South Africa has a constitution, there are many competing systems to the Constitution which are seen as more important by many citizens. Patriarchy is a big part of SA’s national culture – treating women and young people as having lesser status is seen as the norm.
SA reset
To lift economic growth, boost development and foster societal peace, South Africa must reset its national culture, its dominant political culture, and its subcultures.
Dominant aspects of South Africa’s national, political and subcultures are toxic, anti-development, anti-democratic and undermine social peace. If the current National Dialogue helps with the reset of South Africa’s national culture, dominant political culture and subcultures, it will be successful.
The National Dialogue will be productive if it encourages the embrace of the Constitution, democracy and the acceptance of diversity as the key tenets of South Africa’s national culture. Governance systems competing with the Constitution, such as traditional law, liberation “Struggle” law or patriarchy, undermine economic growth, development and societal stability.
The National Dialogue will also be successful if it encourages individual or collective accountability to become a new element of SA’s national culture – and if it fosters the rejection of violence as the solution to political, family and community problems.
Marshalling diversity
Many South Africans wrongly see the country’s diversity as an obstacle to development. Yet, marshalling South Africa’s diversity – colour, talent and capacities – is critical to tackling unemployment, reducing poverty and creating inclusive prosperity.
Given South Africa’s diversity, one colour, ethnic group or political ideology on its own will never deliver development. Collaboration across race, ethnicity, colour, ideologies and parties is essential for inclusive development.
If the National Dialogue leads to the mass rejection of corruption – no matter one’s colour, political party or ethnic group – it will also be a success. It will be a success if it ends people voting based on colour, ethnicity and past Struggle records, and not on current performance and competence.
The National Dialogue will be successful if it encourages people to stop voting for political leaders whose only competency is shouting slogans, singing “Struggle” songs, and issuing violent threats against “enemies”.
A National Dialogue that starts the resetting of South Africa’s national culture would be gold. DM