Deterrence is as old as aggression. What has changed is that many people, particularly progressives, want to rely on condemnations to promote peace. Such indulging encourages aggression. There hasn’t been a nuclear attack in almost eighty years as the likely reprisals would be too costly. This version of deterrence is called ‘mutually assured destruction’. The…Continue reading Promoting war

Gaming Democracy The ANC has managed to remain electorally competitive despite a long litany of failures and abuses. Cyril Ramaphosa’s reign has purged expectations of his party self-correcting, yet they are still expected to remain in the Union Building until 2029.  By then the accumulated damage will almost certainly overwhelm their prospects to survive legitimate…Continue reading What the ANC has taught the world

Various facts point toward Israel being an apartheid state. While such comparisons can be constructive for those focused on solutions, commentaries on Israel’s latest challenges rarely fall into this category. For the 99% of people who are neither Israelis nor South Africans, labelling Israel as an apartheid state conjures up simplistic black-white, good-bad comparisons. This…Continue reading Labelling Israel as an apartheid state

Like Hamas, the ANC exploits inequality to stay in power Comparing the ANC to Hamas is almost as awkward as likening our CEOs to Israeli leaders. Yet beyond the many differences lie hard truths. Somewhat similarly, despite China’s economy and ours being nearly polar opposites, both are bedevilled by the same core affliction. If youth…Continue reading Lessons from Gaza and China

Sympathy for the long-standing plight of Palestinians is insufficient to explain the support for Hamas expressed on the streets of various Western countries and among their elites. Unpacking contributing factors is critical, particularly for South Africa. Western woke elites who support Hamas downplay priorities, tradeoffs and solutions. They rather judge. Those that don’t validate such…Continue reading Productivity, not altruism

Media and academic elites depicting reprisals purely as vengeance reflects how progressive intellectuals favour judging over understanding Israel has long been compared to apartheid SA, and Gaza is now being referred to as the world’s largest “open-air prison”. The next logical step is to compare Hamas’ geopolitics to that of the ANC.  Gaza’s horrific youth…Continue reading Hamas, the ANC and the far-left

A recent survey revealed that 41% of French adults would support a lifetime limit of four flights per person due to climate change concerns. Among those aged 18 to 24, the restrictions were favoured by 59%. Once a large portion of a society feels justified to restrict people’s choices, opposition voices can be overwhelmed. Covid…Continue reading Fly like a free bird

Authoritarian rulers and left-leaning knowledge merchants both promote misperceptions about a multipolar world. Although great powers still shape the global order, citizen awareness in strategically important countries has never been more vital. Just over a century ago, US president Woodrow Wilson campaigned for reelection emphasising that he had kept the US out of wars. After…Continue reading Why today’s ‘great powers’ must not be trusted

China’s successes and missteps emphatically illustrate what works and what doesn’t Our political transformation mothered a misconceived economy, while our national bickering is too overwhelmed by accusations to spot opportunities. Fortunately, China’s successes and missteps emphatically illustrate what works and what doesn’t. International trade has become as integral to broad prosperity as the adoption of…Continue reading Delusions of investment-led growth alongside localisation are tragically naive

With Eskom’s, Transnet’s and the National Treasury’s woes reinforcing one another, prospects for the ANC being booted out of the Union Buildings next year seem less remote. Would that reverse our economy’s dreadful trajectory or merely slow the decline? The ANC lost interest in creating a healthy economy long ago. Instead, they gambled, very aggressively,…Continue reading Vastly greater global integration SA’s only hope