The Arch live on national television on Sunday night was full of his old and delightful twinkly theatricality. “Watch out ANC government, watch out!” My own view is he has every right to his anger and he expressed it with aplomb (and I am deliberately leaving aside placing the Dalai Lama anywhere on the continuumContinue reading “China’s my ANC*”
Category Archives: South African government
African National Congress – under history’s flood
Following a previous post: The Limits of Politics I want to argue that what the ANC is becoming is less a function of the failings of its leadership and more a consequence of the titanic forces of social change. The past and present history of the African National Congress could be characterised (in shorthand) likeContinue reading “African National Congress – under history’s flood”
The forces for and against a South African revolt
Some of the things we think we know about revolts and revolutions – but that do not always apply: Where there are adequate elective processes dissatisfied people believe they can influence outcomes through voting and therefore are unlikely to make the sacrifices required of a revolution. Revolts are generally lead and organised by the middleContinue reading “The forces for and against a South African revolt”
The centre holds – for now
A guest post from my friend and colleague Sandra Gordon. Sandra is a respected financial market economist and we increasingly present work as a team in what is often called “a dog and pony show” … although in our case there is some disagreement over who will be the dog and who will be theContinue reading “The centre holds – for now”
The State of the Zuma Nation
‘Not as bad as I feared; perhaps even better than I hoped’ – is my reply to the question implicit in the title. I have been flat-out covering the event for paying clients and I was at parliament in the gracious hands of the lovely people from Radio 2000 – where I commented for aboutContinue reading “The State of the Zuma Nation”
The labour market is not a charity auction
Capitalism, at its most basic and unbridled, is a system that says: okay, the king is dead and therefore no longer owns all this stuff; take what you can … if you can hold onto it, it’s yours. Oh yeah, and you can pay the people who don’t manage to hang onto any stuff toContinue reading “The labour market is not a charity auction”
Cosatu, Zuma and the New Growth Path
Busy, busy … and everything is slower; the brain and hands struggle with what they did with alacrity before the December holiday. Anyway … It is becoming clear that South African Investment Risk is going to be all about the New Growth Path (NGP) this year. So picking up from where I left off fromContinue reading “Cosatu, Zuma and the New Growth Path”
Who is Cronin’s enemy?
Jeremy Cronin’s criticism of Cosatu’s recent hosting of a “Civil Society Conference” is impossible to understand without understanding his – and the SACP’s – assumptions about the world and South Africa in November 2010. Cronin’s premise is that “an enemy” is attempting to make the public debate about the future of South Africa focus onContinue reading “Who is Cronin’s enemy?”
Suddenly it’s all sweetness and light?
It’s been a difficult week, and I started the following post on Monday soon after hearing the general tone of the press and analysts response to the cabinet reshuffle. I wanted to publish while the accolades for Jacob Zuma were still glowing and, unfortunately for both the President and me, the corrective doubts and scepticismContinue reading “Suddenly it’s all sweetness and light?”
Winning, losing and declaring a truce in the battle of ideas
Jacob Zuma’s decision to meet with Gareth Cliff and Woolworths’ decision to put Lig, Juig, Joy and Lééf back on the shelves makes me wonder about the rules of engagement in the battle of ideas in the age of celebrity and social media. In the 1980’s those of us connected to the ANC in theContinue reading “Winning, losing and declaring a truce in the battle of ideas”
Nic Borain 