Suchergebnisse

THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS WHY LAND REFORM POLICIES THAT AIM AT EQUITY REGULARLY RESULT IN INEQUITABLE OUTCOMES. THE QUESTION IS EXAMINED IN RELATION TO THE NEW LAND REFORM POLICY IN SOUTH AFRICA. IT MAKES FOUR ARGUMENTS: PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL RELATIONS WITHIN WHICH THE PROGRAM WILL TAKE PLACE; POLICY OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA SHOULD NOT BE CONTRADICTORY; EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS NEED TO PERMEATE ALL ASPECTS OF POLICY AND NOT BE LIMITED TO STATEMENTS OF VISION AND OBJECTIVES; AND, THE RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS OF POLICY SHOULD FIT WITHIN EXISTING RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS. THESE ARE SOME OF THE POINTS OF SLIPPAGE WHICH MAY RESULT IN THE SACRIFICE OF EQUITY OBJECTIVES IN PRACTICE.

A TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING LEGISLATIVE INFLUENCE BASED ON A SURVEY INSTRUMENT ADMINISTERED TO CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS IS PRESENTED. THE INSTRUMENT ELICITS INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE EFFECT OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS' PREFERENCES ON THE SUBSTANCE OF SPECIFIC PIECES OF LEGISLATION. THE MEASURE STANDS UP WELL UNDER SYSTEMATIC TESTS OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITTY, AND IS APPLICABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF BILLS FOR WHICH PLAUSIBLE ASSUMPTIONS OR REASONABLE INFERENCES ABOUT MEMBER PREFERENCES ARE NOT EASILY MADE.

The growth of modern nation states seems to have inevitably entailed the progressive encapsulation, incorporation and integration of local, relatively autonomous systems into a broader political and socioeconomic framework, generating in the process new pressures on local systems as they are forced to reformulate their relationship with the encompassing state. Even in the case of peasant societies where there is, by definition, a relationship between local community and an overarching political and economic structure, there has, historically, been a high degree of decentralization in many spheres, and a relatively low demand for the integration of the total society. The process of modernization, however, is generally accompanied by increasing central interference in subordinate systems, leading to new pressures, opportunities, interests and alignments.