Technological Dynamics in South African Mining and the Development of Racial Occupational Mobility Restrictions

The paper illustrates the role of political and social dynamics upon technological change. Examining dynamics transforming excavation practices on South Africa’s goldmines, it describes how a technology that opened up a range of social and economic opportunities became a constraint on those opportunities. This technology’s development and diffusion thereby established a critical precedent in the spread of racial occupational mobility restrictions. Collaborative innovation is also a dominant feature in the analysis, highlighting both its historical importance in South Africa as well as the need for caution in its contemporary promotion.