Theorizing a Notion of “Moral Capital”

Abstract

This book began by claiming that amongst its aims it would explore a youth discourse of morality as a contribution to current debates around moral regeneration in South Africa, and globally, as a contribution to the ways in which moral education is conducted. It asked: How do youth in a South African township understand the concept of morality, and how does this construction facilitate an understanding of their processes of moral formation? As the study unfolded, the group of youth I befriended elaborated on their understanding of morality by revealing their moral codes of right and wrong, the ways in which they represented good and bad, and how they positioned themselves and others along a moral spectrum. They also described their processes of decision making, the relationship between their moral beliefs and behavior, and provided narratives of how they interpreted the various moral influences that shaped their lives. In doing so, these ordinary Langa youth displayed a formidable understanding of morality, not as abstract phenomena but as lived reality, and as an integrated and essential part of everyday life. The data presented in this study has shown how complex and nuanced the notion of morality is in the lives of township youth, and how, given a sensitive approach to research, these moral understandings may be elicited. This chapter provides a summary of these findings and offers a theoretical understanding of how this data may be usefully understood. It concludes by considering how morality might relate to the social reproduction of poverty.