Abstract
South Africa celebrated 20 years of democracy in 2014. In 1994, life satisfaction among all South Africans peaked following the first open non-racial elections. Since that time, only some 45–55 % of the total population, on average, state that they are satisfied. Drawing on Alex Michalos’ classic Multiple Discrepancy Theory (MDT), this chapter explores the needs, expectations, aspirations and perceptions of progress among black South Africans, who were promised a better life under democracy by the new government they voted for in 1994. Findings suggest that expectations raised by the new government in the early years of democracy, coupled with a strong sense of entitlement to state services and welfare in later years, are among the strongest drivers of life satisfaction 20 years into democracy. South Africa’s democracy project is still a work in progress and black South Africans continue to hope for a better life in the future.
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Notes
- 1.
The title of a chapter in Meredith’s (2011, p. 162) historical account of the years following independence from colonial rule in Africa.
- 2.
Some 40 years later, the 2013 World Happiness Report uses ‘social support’, that is, someone to count on in times of trouble, in its list of conditioners or explanatory variables for happiness (Helliwell et al. 2013, p. 10).
- 3.
Michalos makes no distinction between happiness and life satisfaction; both measures evaluate overall well-being. In our South African studies, if forced to choose a single measure of well-being for technical or funding reasons, we followed the McKennell and Andrews’ (1980) distinction, using the more cognitive satisfaction measure when evaluating living conditions and the more affective happiness measure when examining more emotional issues such as national pride.
- 4.
Although the South African constitution guarantees equal rights regardless of race, gender or religious persuasion, apartheid-era racial categories continue to be used in everyday life, as well as in affirmative action quotas, the country’s official statistics, and sample surveys that monitor attitudes, social change and transformation in society.
- 5.
The item, which used a five-faces happiness scale from ‘very happy’ to ‘angry and impatient’ read: ‘Which face shows the way most African people like yourself in [township] will most probably feel like in 10 years from now?’ (Hanf et al. 1981, p. 467).
- 6.
Unpublished results from focus group discussions on the isiXhosa version of the National Wellbeing Index with township residents living in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, December 2014.
- 7.
Toyi-toyi is a dance that is used in political protests in South Africa.
- 8.
The full introduction to Cantril’s ladder of life reads: ‘All of us want certain things in life. When you think about what really matters in your own life, what are your wishes and hopes for the future? In other words, if you imagine your future in the BEST possible light, what would your life look like then, if you are to be happy? Take your time in answering; such things aren’t easy to put into words.’ Cantril specified that probes might also refer to ‘dreams’ and ‘desires’ (Cantril 1965, pp. 23–24).
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Acknowledgements
Obviously, I am indebted to Alex Michalos for his interest in and support of South African quality of life studies. Three of the studies reported here were supported by the South African National Research Foundation: the subjective well-being module in the SASAS 2012 survey was supported by grant 77926 for research collaboration on quality of life between South Africa and Algeria; the two focus group discussions on the isiXhosa Personal Wellbeing Index and National Wellbeing Index were supported by NRF incentive funding grant 85343. I am grateful to my South African colleague, Benjamin Roberts, co-ordinator of SASAS at the Human Sciences Research Council, for the tabulations of the SASAS 2012 survey data. Views expressed are mine and should not be attributed to the NRF or any of my research partners and colleagues.
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Møller, V. (2016). South African Perceptions of the Good Life Twenty Years into Democracy. In: Maggino, F. (eds) A Life Devoted to Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 60. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20568-7_15
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