The viability of the welfare state in Botswana: a Gramscian response to Botlhale and Molokwane

This short piece is a Gramscian inspired response to Emmanual Botlhale and Thekiso Molokwane's article entitled "The viability of the welfare state in Botswana". Contrary to Botlhale and Molokwane's uncritical approach, I argue that as with other welfare states in capitalist societies, Botswana's welfare state is an instrument used by the ruling bourgeois classes to construct hegemony or renew it (hegemony) when it has been weakened. Furthermore, I argue that Botswana's welfare state, as with other welfare states in contemporary capitalist societies, is threatened by neo-liberalism.