The public sector should be leading the charge to reduce youth unemployment through supporting value-added exporting rather than debating subsistence payments for young adults What advice should a retirement-aged development economist give to the graduating class of a typical SA high school? Should the focus be on pursuing a virtuous life or countering our leaders’…Continue reading Battling entrenched patronage with youthful self-reliance

Rampant youth unemployment doesn’t inspire an anti-ANC backlash because no one is promoting a workable remedy. Electing a more responsible government would immediately benefit commercial interests and productive workers, while initiating an extremely slow trickle-down effect. Fixing Eskom while sharply reducing corruption and cadre deployment would reverse the decline in the discretionary income of those…Continue reading Why young voters won’t help oust the ANC

Europeans must choose between warming their homes next winter or supporting ideals like national sovereignty and a sustainable environment. Here in SA, blind devotion to ideals persists despite their having been hijacked by reckless political opportunists. Vladimir Putin is betting, not irrationally, that as winter approaches, the coalition which supports Ukraine and sanctions Russia will…Continue reading When ideals derail progress and unity

The rise of authoritarianism is a profound threat. On the plus side, it has discredited various myths and misperceptions making it considerably easier to develop a worldview.  “Worldview”, as used here, refers to how decisions are informed by beliefs and knowledge about how the world is evolving. In some important ways, the world has become…Continue reading Why developing a political worldview has become easier – and more important

While pitting constitutional democracies and capitalism against Marxist-inspired ideologies, the last Cold War slowed South Africa’s political transition. Today’s version, about authoritarianism versus representative forms of government, can aid opportunists seeking to undermine our democratic institutions. The 1945-1990 Cold War made clear that Marxist-inspired economic policies retard progress. That capitalism resoundingly won that round greatly…Continue reading Might a new Cold War suit the ANC?

As people naturally seek validation of strongly held beliefs, it is easy for the ANC to exploit polarisation. The inability either to deter last July’s mass rioting and looting or to subsequently prosecute the instigators and their foot soldiers reflects ANC corruption and incompetence. But, given the dangers that such fraying of political stability foreshadows,…Continue reading How seeking validation blocks solutions

Depicting opponents as being morally deficient plays well at campaign rallies but it blocks solutions. Media organisations have also spurred polarisation by demoting non-partisan, objective reporting. President Biden accusing his Russian counterpart of war crimes plays well with much of his base and others. Yet, under most plausible scenarios, this makes an acceptable outcome more…Continue reading Being ‘better than them’

Prosecuting corruption is necessary but it won’t fix our economy. Vigilantly pursuing the Zondo Commission’s recommendations must be accompanied by finding solutions to our youth unemployment crisis,  guided by today’s international currents.  While legal tools have evidenced rampant corruption, lawful forms of patronage, such as a bloated public service and cadre deployment, pose still greater…Continue reading Legal patronage sabotages competitiveness and growth

Some autocratic regimes seek legitimacy through staging elections. All of them seek legitimacy through criticising the West. The war in Ukraine challenges such criticisms. Prospects for school leavers have become a far better proxy for legitimacy. Cultivating a sophisticated and up-to-date worldview typically requires appreciating much history, economics, and the basics of international relations while dutifully…Continue reading Legitimacy: Russia, China, and SA versus the West

The war in Ukraine symbolises autocratic governments attacking the rules-based global order. It also highlights why our leaders have failed young South Africans, as they still can’t articulate a workable plan.  ANC reluctance to criticise Russia’s barbarism traces to their sympathies for fellow patronage-reliant regimes. Antipathy toward the West’s disproportionate global influence blinds the party’s…Continue reading Ukraine, Russia, China and SA’s ‘born frees’