Government interventionism and sustainable development : the case of South Africa

Abstract

Governments have moral and legal obligations to intervene in society in order to direct, regulate, facilitate and act as catalyst for economic prosperity, social justice and ecological sustainability. The nature and scale of such interventions depend on various factors, which include the ideological reasoning of policy makers, the availability of natural resources, demographical and geographical realities, as well as trajectories for economic growth. On a global scale governments have to address serious challenges such as climate change, ecological dysfunction, and the depletion of natural resources. The global community is living far beyond its ecological means. It is expected that governments muster coherent policy responses to the highly complex environmental problems that society is facing currently. The aim of this article is to outline governments’ interventions in sustainable development by focusing on a particular case, namely the South African Government. This government sets itself the target to become a developmental state according to the strategic goals of its National Development Plan. This context will be explored by focusing on specific social, economic and environmental interventions the South African Government has effected to facilitate sustainable development.