THE SYSTEM THAT SURVIVED APARTHEID: South Africa's townships were built to enforce white supremacy. Three decades into democracy, they remain the foundation of a racialized capitalism that governs through scarcity and patronage.

The article argues that South Africa's persistent housing crisis, with nearly four thousand informal settlements, is not a delivery failure but a structural feature that sustains the country's post-apartheid rentier capitalism. Topics include the shift from redistribution to market liberalization under the Growth Employment and Redistribution plan, the racial compromise leaving white ownership largely intact; and how informal settlements help contain unrest and distribute resources.