International Businesses in South Africa During Apartheid
Contents
ABSTRACT 1
1 INTRODUCTION 2
2 SWEDEN 3
3 ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF INVESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA 5
4 ARGUMENTS AGAINST INVESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA 6
5 APPLICABLE MORAL THEORIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT 7
6 Conclusion 8
a Bibliography 9
ABSTRACT
Apartheid was a racial segregation, divide and rule system invoked from 1948 to 1994 in South Africa by the Whites-only National Party, achieved through racial laws that expropriated Blacks of all civil and political rights. Under apartheid, Blacks were denied the prerogative to vote, hold political office, move freely within the country, assemble, unionize or bargain collectively, attend decent schools of their choice or own land. At the peak of apartheid, several multinationals crossed the South African borders and set up business operations in the country. Apartheid was perceived by most as an immoral, unethical and barbarous tenure that infringed upon Black people’s civil and political rights. Amidst the conflict between moral principles and the profit motive behind most corporations, did such international corporations have a moral obligation to divest and terminate all their business transactions in order to further the Black’s human rights? Or could a moral argument be put forward that their presence in South Africa was to the direct benefit of the well-being of their Black employees and of Blacks in the whole country to assist with their struggle in preparation for a way to a robust economy in the post-apartheid South Africa? The arguments on both sides of this subject appeal to four basic types of moral standards, namely (1) utilitarianism (2) rights (3) justice and (4) caring. Furthermore, the arguments allude to the moral characters of individuals and groups of people involved in this contention. Both arguments and moral characters of individuals and/or groups will be discussed in detail in this paper. In addition, a Sweden’s engagement with the apartheid regime in conducting
ABSTRACT 1
1 INTRODUCTION 2
2 SWEDEN 3
3 ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF INVESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA 5
4 ARGUMENTS AGAINST INVESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA 6
5 APPLICABLE MORAL THEORIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT 7
6 Conclusion 8
a Bibliography 9
ABSTRACT
Apartheid was a racial segregation, divide and rule system invoked from 1948 to 1994 in South Africa by the Whites-only National Party, achieved through racial laws that expropriated Blacks of all civil and political rights. Under apartheid, Blacks were denied the prerogative to vote, hold political office, move freely within the country, assemble, unionize or bargain collectively, attend decent schools of their choice or own land. At the peak of apartheid, several multinationals crossed the South African borders and set up business operations in the country. Apartheid was perceived by most as an immoral, unethical and barbarous tenure that infringed upon Black people’s civil and political rights. Amidst the conflict between moral principles and the profit motive behind most corporations, did such international corporations have a moral obligation to divest and terminate all their business transactions in order to further the Black’s human rights? Or could a moral argument be put forward that their presence in South Africa was to the direct benefit of the well-being of their Black employees and of Blacks in the whole country to assist with their struggle in preparation for a way to a robust economy in the post-apartheid South Africa? The arguments on both sides of this subject appeal to four basic types of moral standards, namely (1) utilitarianism (2) rights (3) justice and (4) caring. Furthermore, the arguments allude to the moral characters of individuals and groups of people involved in this contention. Both arguments and moral characters of individuals and/or groups will be discussed in detail in this paper. In addition, a Sweden’s engagement with the apartheid regime in conducting
Bibliography: 2. Magnusson, Ake, 1943, Swedish Investments in South Africa, Scandinavian Institute of African Studies 3 4. Nils Bertel Einar Andren, 1967, Power Balance and Non Alignment: A perspective on Swedish Foreign Policy, Almqvist & Wiksell 5 6. John W Houck, 1996, Is the good corporate dead? : Social Responsibility in a Global Economy ARTICLES 11. The Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa, 2003. South Africa’s Economic Transformation: A Strategy for Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. [Online]. Available at: http://www.thedti.gov.za ----------------------- [3] Thorvald Stoltenberg, 1978, Nordic Opportunities and Responsibilities in Southern Africa [4] Nils Bertel Einar Andren, 1967, Power Balance and Non Alignment : A perspective on Swedish Foreign Policy, Almqvist & Wiksell [5] Manuel G. Velasquez, 2002, Business Ethics : Concepts and Cases : Firth Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA [6] John W Houck, 1996, Is the good corporate dead? : Social Responsibility in a Global Economy [7] John W Houck, 1996, Is the good corporate dead? : Social Responsibility in a Global Economy [8] Manuel G [9] Manuel G. Velasquez, 2002, Business Ethics : Concepts and Cases : Firth Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA [10] Potter, R