Values and Development in Southern Africa

5. Linking Values and Development: An Empirical Analysis

5 Linking Values and Development: An Empirical Analysis Hennie Kotzé and Stefanie Schulein Introduction What has loosely been called ‘traditional African values’ has historically been viewed by scholars as a significant impediment to political and economic development in the twenty-first century. As argued by Mattes and Shin (2005:5-6), those following traditional value patterns have been said to prioritise the collective good of the family and community over procedure and individual rights. Similarly, selfidentification as members of sub-national kinship groups rather than modern nation-states is said to prevail. These factors, together with uncritical respect for authority and social hierarchies, are often seen to make traditional societies inhospitable for market economies and democratic consolidation to take root. We have argued against a monolithic and simplistic notion of traditional society. However, the data available is, to some extent, tied to these notions and we will explore it taking these terms into consideration. The question is: what exactly are these traditional value patterns assumed or argued to be? Is there any consciousness that it may be an oversimplification to merely view values in terms of set ‘mental programmes’ instead of complex orientations which are constantly in flux? This chapter starts the discussion of these questions by way of an empirical exploration of Afrobarometer survey data in six Sub-Saharan African countries (Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique).1 Through linking various value dimensions to the extent of development2 at the aggregate country level, vital insights are Values and Development in Southern Africa 136 provided into possible relationships between these variables. Although secondary data analysis necessarily brings with it certain limitations,3 this exploratory study, nevertheless, takes some initial steps towards a better grasp of the often misunderstood concept of African values. The Link between Values and Development Kluckhohn, Parsons and Shills (1951:64) have probably provided one of the most used definitions of the values concept as ‘a conception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an individual or characteristic of a group, of the desirable which influences the selection from available modes, means and ends of action’. They also formulated the concept of ‘value orientations’ which they defined as being organised complexes of values which apply to broad segments of life and are a key factor in cultural integration.4 There is a significant debate about the role of values in the integration of society and we do not agree with the Parsonian version of this matter. However, the definition is not dependent on that application. The theory of political culture argues that traditional values result from norms and values embedded in ethnic cultures which are transmitted through socialisation. Scholars such as Almond (1963), Eckstein (1997) and Inglehart (1988) claimed that these values have a profound influence on how individuals order and conduct their lives. By extension, these value patterns were seen to have a direct influence on the country’s economic and political regimes. As noted by Mattes and Shin (2005:7-8), modernisation theorists5 accepted these premises and advocated policies that would bring about rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, an increase in formal education, and growth of middle classes. It was thought that these factors would in turn change individual values over the course of a lifetime.6 However, this process should perhaps rather be seen as a circular chain in which a changing environment influences values, which in turn impact on environmental factors (i.e. development or the lack of it) (Van Deth and Scarbrough 1995a:65). Here, the question arises as to where Africa currently finds itself within this circular chain and whether the effect of the forces of globalisation changes the conceptualisation associated with the idea of modernisation. In order to adequately assess this, we are left with the challenging task of ‘measuring’ the evolution of values and environmental factors over time. ‘Measuring’ Values It is clear that when empirically testing the relationship between values and development within given societies, one is presented with various methodological challenges. What is required is cross-national data about individual and collective value structures across a wide range of countries. One such study which potentially provides particularly useful data in this respect is the Afrobarometer survey, with Kotzé and Schulein: Linking Values and Development - An Empirical Analysis 137 three rounds of the survey having been conducted since 1999 (2007a). In this chapter, we will analyse data from six countries in the Southern African region which participated in...