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HSRC launches latest book on Quality of Life and Wellbeing at UFS

19 June 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Suplied

Quality of Life and Wellbeing Book Launch 2024 — Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation (second from the left), was the lead editor with Profs Narnia Bohler-Muller and Prof Zitha Mokomane (left). With them is Dr Derek Davids (right), research director in the HSRC's Developmental, Capable and Ethical State research division and an advisory member at the Department of Applied Legal Studies at Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

The Human Sciences Research Council Press (HSRC Press) launched its latest book in the flagship publication State of the Nation series, titled Quality of Life and Wellbeing at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The launch took place on Thursday, 13 June in the Equitas Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus. Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation of the UFS, was the lead editor, with Profs Narnia Bohler-Muller, divisional executive in the HSRC’s Developmental, Capable and Ethical State research division; and acting Group Executive; Zitha Mokomane, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pretoria; and Prof Crain Soudien, Chief Executive Officer of the HSRC. Prof Soudien was not at the launch.

The discussion was facilitated by Dr Molapo Qhobela, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact.

Celebrating its 20th year of existence, the State of the Nation volume, one of the HSRC’s flagship publications, serves as an invaluable, independent scholarly resource offering insights into the current state of South Africa. The 2024 edition explores themes such as the environment, quality of life and wellbeing, an open economy, mental health, the arts, human security, gender and wellbeing, vaccinations, wellbeing and happiness, and inequality in South Africa.

The state in which the nation finds itself

In his welcome remarks, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Francis Petersen, said two decades ago when the State of the Nation series began, South Africa was attempting to come to terms with the complex legacies of colonialism and apartheid and was contending with the post-apartheid reconstruction, development and reconciliation.

“I think there was a sense of optimism during that time for the future and a collective sense that the country’s challenges, however deep and multifaceted, those challenges were and are, could be overcome in time.

“Two decades later South Africa finds itself at a political watershed and having to deal with many of the same challenges as from 2004, such as economic inequality, social justice and effective government,” said Prof Petersen.

According to him, it is welcome to note that this volume brings to the fore new, fresh and relevant directions that address issues relating to quality of life and notions of wellbeing. Key questions that are inferred and that underpin much of the scholarship on offer, said Prof Petersen, is what is the state? Where is the state? Where does the state begin and where does it end?

“The editors offer compelling analyses that it is in the complex act of making lives of individuals acting in their own interest and the government articulating an agenda for the nation that we are able to discern the outlines of the state in which the nation finds itself.”

The scope and drivers

Prof Reddy, in his short introductory remarks, provided descriptive comments and focused on the background, the concept, the process, and some of the scope and drivers informing the text and context shaping the volume.

The latest book which took two-and-half years to produce, has two predecessor volumes published in the 2019 and 2021 respectively, with poverty and inequality and an ethics of care being a strong thematic.

“What is the importance of the scope of the volume and what makes the book unique. With this volume, thematising quality of life and wellbeing, we have seen some very interesting work being developed in the country. This particular volume is the first fully dedicated edition in the State of the Nation series dealing with this issue. We felt it was timely, we felt that this issue of Quality of Life and Wellbeing that were kind of completely interrelated,” said Prof Reddy.

According to him, some of the drivers that shaped this volume included the spectre of poverty and inequality which is an underlying implicit theme. Their implication for human wellbeing and human conditions in several different ways remains key.

Prof Reddy said the book is divided into four parts that deal with quality of life, politics and the state; economics; society, culture, identity and the public good; and looking at South Africa and beyond, including issues such as human security, gender and peace.

“The big issue with the volume’s theorical and conceptual framework is about building theory as well as much as it is also about dealing with the empirical and material realities facing citizens. The volume is predicated on quality of life and wellbeing, asking whether standards of living and styles of living lead us to a good life. And the questions we pose include: What is a good life? What are the attributes and elements of such a life? What are the conditions that need to be met to meaningfully improve quality of life and wellbeing?”

Environmental wellbeing

Talking about her chapter which addresses environmental and human health, Prof Narnia Bohler-Muller stated that the constitution was the starting point as what is embedded in the constitution is the recognition of the importance of wellbeing although the word is seldom used in the constitution.

“The first time ‘wellbeing’ is used is in Section 24 which deals with environmental rights. We thought this is a complex intersection – law, human rights, constitutionalism, health and wellbeing, and quality of life, so let’s explore it.

“We all know that the environment is extremely important. We cannot live without it. We are in a massive crisis in the world when it comes to the environment and climate change. There is an intersectionality between environment, climate, health, and wellbeing. Other issues also include clean water and the risk of extreme weather events as a result of climate change.”

Dissatisfied by the status quo in Soutth Africa

Prof Mokomane said two questions drove her co-authored chapter titled Quality of Life and political support in SA – resilient nation. The first question is: Do peoples’ perception of quality of governance influence their quality of life? And the second question was: Which aspects of government quality signify as important contributors to quality of life?

“This chapter reaffirms the notion that was held by many that the general public has become increasing dissatisfied by the status quo in South Africa over the past decade. We concluded that the political and economic crises of the past decade have perhaps begun to create a scenario in which personal fear is gaining traction over the hope that South Africans are known for.

“The overall conclusion is that for many South Africans resilience has been displaced by resignation which has introduced the risk of further disability and fragility in the country in the future.”

Profs Hussein Solomon from the Centre for Gender and African Studies and Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, were respondents to the text.

News Archive

“To forgive is not an obligation. It’s a choice.” – Prof Minow during Reconciliation Lecture

2014-03-05

“To forgive is not an obligation. It’s a choice.” – Prof Minow during the Third Annual Reconciliation Lecture entitled Forgiveness, Law and Justice.
Photo: Johan Roux

No one could have anticipated the atmosphere in which Prof Martha Minow would visit the Bloemfontein Campus. And no one could have predicted how apt the timing of her message would be. As this formidable Dean of Harvard University’s Law School stepped behind the podium, a latent tension edged through the crowded audience.

“The issue of getting along after conflict is urgent.”

With these few words, Prof Minow exposed the essence of not only her lecture, but also the central concern of the entire university community.

As an expert on issues surrounding racial justice, Prof Minow has worked across the globe in post-conflict societies. How can we prevent atrocities from happening? she asked. Her answer was an honest, “I don’t know.” What she is certain of, on the other hand, is that the usual practice of either silence or retribution does not work. “I think that silence produces rage – understandably – and retribution produces the cycle of violence. Rather than ignoring what happens, rather than retribution, it would be good to reach for something more.” This is where reconciliation comes in.

Prof Minow put forward the idea that forgiveness should accompany reconciliation efforts. She defined forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to forego rightful grounds of resentment towards those who have committed a wrong. “To forgive then, in this definition, is not an obligation. It’s a choice. And it’s held by the one who was harmed,” she explained.

Letting go of resentment cannot be forced – not even by the law. What the law can do, though, is either to encourage or discourage forgiveness. Prof Minow showed how the law can construct adversarial processes that render forgiveness less likely, when indeed its intention was the opposite. “Or, law can give people chances to meet together in spaces where they may apologise and they may forgive,” she continued. This point introduced some surprising revelations about our Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Indeed, studies do report ambivalence, disappointment and mixed views about the TRC. Whatever our views are on its success, Prof Minow reported that people across the world wonder how South African did it. “It may not work entirely inside the country; outside the country it’s had a huge effect. It’s a touchstone for transitional justice.”

The TRC “seems to have coincided with, and maybe contributed to, the relatively peaceful political transition to democracy that is, frankly, an absolute miracle.” What came as a surprise to many is this: the fact that the TRC has affected transitional justice efforts in forty jurisdictions, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Liberia. It has even inspired the creation of a TRC in Greensborough, North Carolina, in the United States.

There are no blueprints for solving conflict, though. “But the possibility of something other than criminal trials, something other than war, something other than silence – that’s why the TRC, I think, has been such an exemplar to the world,” she commended.

Court decision cannot rebuild a society, though. Only individuals can forgive. Only individuals can start with purposeful, daily decisions to forgive and forge a common future. Forgiveness is rather like kindness, she suggested. It’s a resource without limits. It’s not scarce like water or money. It’s within our reach. But if it’s forced, it’s not forgiveness.

“It is good,” Prof Minow warned, “to be cautious about the use of law to deliberately shape or manipulate the feelings of any individual. But it is no less important to admit that law does affect human beings, not just in its results, but in its process.” And then we must take responsibility for how we use that law.

“A government can judge, but only people can forgive.” As Prof Minow’s words lingered, the air suddenly seemed a bit more buoyant.

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