Ubuntu and the willingness to sacrifice human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the government-imposed lockdown measures temporarily restricted several constitutionally protected rights, and as such, the rights of all of those living in South Africa experienced unprecedented limitations to some of their human rights. These restrictions had significant socioeconomic and psychosocial consequences. Yet, despite this, data from the UJ/ HSRC COVID-19 Democracy survey, a cross-sectional online survey conducted between 2020 and 2021, demonstrate that over threequarters of the adult population were willing to make these sacrifices. This article uses Ubuntu as a sociological concept and constitutional value to demonstrate how Ubuntu values of a people-centered approach, which includes interconnectedness, care, collective values, harmony, respect, and responsiveness, and a concern for the sanctity of life, can be seen to inform the willingness of the population to sacrifice their human rights. The article demonstrates that when analyzed by gender, age, and class, there were high levels of social solidarity with little variation in the support for human rights sacrifice. However, there are some important variations by race, as white adults demonstrated lower willingness to sacrifice human rights in comparison to other groups, reflecting a stronger emphasis on individualism over collective well-being. Despite this variation, the article demonstrates that Ubuntu values were central to how citizens navigated the pandemic and demonstrates the utility of deploying Ubuntu as a sociological concept and constitutional value as reflected in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.