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Political Attitudes & Beliefs:Opposition Politics

The South African Mindsets

2012

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The 2012 survey:

Fieldwork period: February-April 2012

Sample:

2946 adults aged 15 plus

National probability sample excluding deep rural (communities of fewer than 500 people)

Represents 21.6 million people (weighted to the latest population parameters adopted by AMPS).

The futurefact survey

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Note: The statistical part of the segmentation was conducted by Drs Clive Corder and Jacky Galpin with further analysis by Kuper Research

The SA mindsets have been an essential component of the National Perception Audit for many years.

They are essentially a segmentation – a way of distilling the attitudes, values and beliefs of South Africans into mindset clusters on a range of issues pertinent to the Brand SA mandate.

Taken together with key concepts such as active citizenship and social cohesion, these mindsets capture the complex nuances in the country’s social, economic and political milieu that motivate people to behave in certain ways.

The SA mindsets provide a useful strategic and conceptual tool for message targeting and communication efforts in the building of national pride, social cohesion and active citizenship.

The SA Mindsets as a strategic tool

Source: futurefact 2012

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Pessimists13%

Influentials10%

Conven-tionals21%

Enthu-siasts41%

Solid Cit-izens15%

The South African Mindsets 2012

Source: futurefact 2012

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The South African Mindsets 2012

2008 2009 2011 2012

Pessimists 13% 13% 9% 13%

Influentials 13% 16% 16% 10%

Conventionals 19% 19% 19% 21%

Enthusiasts 39% 35% 41% 41%

Solid Citizens 15% 16% 15% 15%

Source: futurefact 2012

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Pessimists continue to be deeply dissatisfied, marginalised people who have not found satisfaction and happiness since 1994. Located at either end of the LSM continuum, on the one hand we have people trapped in a cycle of poverty whose circumstances have not improved and on the other people who are relatively well-off but who are unhappy about crime, corruption, what they perceive as declining standards. They are united in their conservatism, dissatisfaction and loss of confidence in South Africa’s future but their resentment doesn’t translate into anything positive such as helping change things in their communities or doing something for their country. Their anger at their circumstances appears to be leading them away from the ANC towards the DA, but this is a group of habitual ‘whingers’ who will not be easily satisfied – especially as they believe that politicians are really only interested in how they personally will benefit from power and cronyism. The fact that they have grown by 4%, largely at the expense of the Influentials is disturbing.

Pessimists 13% (9% in 2011)

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Enthusiasts are an interesting mix of optimism and realism combined with a more constructive and positive spirit than previously. As individuals, they would like to be more successful and to be able to afford the expensive cars, clothes and lifestyles of South Africa’s elite – even if this may only be possible through a bit of corruption (nothing too serious as they have a healthy fear of the police!). They appear to hold fairly liberal views on race, religion and politics but still feel that whites have too much control and see nationalisation as a solution to this. They continue to be strong supporters of the ANC but are now more openly critical of the government (notably when it comes to its lack of accountability and lack of capacity or skills to implement policy). They are beginning to consider alternatives to the ANC as they believe that they and the country deserve better lives and treatment. They are generally enthusiastic about the country and proud of its achievements and what could be achieved in the future. They are actively involved in local community groups and initiatives which make the country a better place for its citizens.

 

Enthusiasts 41% (41% in 2011)

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Solid Citizens classify themselves as working class. Although they have little chance of advancing much further (lack of education and life skills), members of this group focus on the positives and what has improved in their lives and in the country as a whole. They believe that South Africa provides good opportunities for foreign and local investors but are concerned that our labour force needs to be more productive if we are to attract FDI to this country and live up to our potential to be a wealthy and powerful nation. They continue to be solid supporters of the ANC but have concerns about the ability of its government to deliver the support and services to which they feel entitled. They are also more likely to criticise the government on corruption, poor service delivery and unemployment than previously but believe that our democratic foundations are strong and will endure.

Solid Citizens 15% (15% in 2011)

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Conventionals are somewhat conservative people who tend to live in smaller towns and villages and have a correspondingly constrained view of the world and their lives. Despite being relatively well-off (and describing themselves as middle or upper-class) almost half of them feel disempowered. This feeling of alienation from the country may also account for them continuing to describe themselves by language or skin colour (white) where most people already describe themselves as Africans or South Africans. An inward-looking group, their focus is firmly fixed on their family and their immediate community where they may feel they have some degree of control of their lives. They prefer to mix within their own group and culture where they continue to feel secure practicing and upholding their own beliefs and traditions.

Conventionals 21% (19% in 2011)

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Middle-class, well-educated and living in cities and suburbs, Influentials are black numerically the highest levels of membership occur among whites, coloureds and Indians and they are the most likely to have cross-racial friendships and also to describe themselves as South Africans. Many have been victims of crime and their anger translates into a retributive ‘shoot to kill’ attitude. This carries over to their desire to see tax-payers money used more wisely with emphasis on rooting out corruption, firing of corrupt officials, improving service delivery, skills training and capacity building capacity – rather than on luxury cars, body guards and perks for government or state officials. They are clearly unhappy with the opulent lifestyles of those in power and their lack of concern about the wellbeing of citizens – even believing that the ANC, the party that fought so hard for the liberation of South Africa, is becoming ‘the enemy of the people’. Significantly, the highest levels of support for the DA are voiced in this group. Ultimately they are confident, positive, ‘solution-orientated’ people who do what they can for their families and to improve conditions in their local communities and would like to get involved in initiatives that would help make SA a better place for all citizens, making their declining numbers a cause for concern.

Influentials 10% (16% in 2011)