Thought Leader

Beware of political parties promising you the world in their manifestos and campaign materials. Believe it or not politicians are quite flexible with both reality and the truth. With this in mind I started reading the Democratic Alliance’s manifesto for change. The first line on the website reads, “The Manifesto for Change is our contract…

Recently, at the start of 2019, I chose to come out of retirement, deconcentrate and redelegate, for the time being, my BLU ERA activities; and enroll for a higher education. Now what this might have meant, 10 years ago, was returning to the politics department at UKZN and trying to finish my BA in political…

I’ve just read Shaheen Hoosen’s manifesto, “Inspirationalist” and I could not wait to share it with you. Masterfully written, Inspirationalist will take you on a journey of self-discovery while equipping you with the abilities to thrive. From the mind of Shaheen Hoosen, noted and celebrated Inspirationalist, comes this winning formula for personal growth, self-actualisation, fluent…

Durban 27 January 2019 The First Officer South Africa I hereby tender notice that I have purchased, from the state and government of the Republic of South Africa, the parastatals, in whole and in toto, altogether for the sum of One South African Rand (R1.00), as is. Further to which I hereby tender notice that…

Durban January 25 2019 The First Officer of State, and The First Officer of Government Republic of South Africa I hereby tender an offer to purchase from the state and the government of the Republic of South Africa the parastatals, now in part known as the state-owned enterprises of the Republic of South Africa, in…

In The Prison-House of Language (Princeton University Press, 1972) Fredric Jameson opens the Preface with the following thought-provoking remark (p. v): The history of thought is the history of its models. Classical mechanics, the organism, natural selection, the atomic nucleus or electronic field, the computer: such are some of the objects or systems which, first…

Liminality is a strange phenomenon: The Encarta dictionary online defines it as ‘belonging to the point of conscious awareness below which something cannot be experienced or felt’, which is only one of the ways the term is used, but nevertheless gives a good idea of what is involved when you call something ‘liminal’. The point…

Most people don’t know what complex systems (the word ‘complex’ is important) are, despite the fact that everyone one is enmeshed in several such complex systems every minute of the day and night. One such complex system is language, which we use more or less all the time, except when we sleep, and even then,…

In India, the caste system controls everything, even with the modernisation that has made parts of the caste system illegal. It regulates occupation, vocation, profession and education by determining who gets what opportunity. It determines association, such that the freedom of association is limited insofar as not enabling cross-caste association. In India it is the…

In a recent article titled ‘The perils of short-termism: Civilisation’s greatest threat’, by Richard Fisher, he makes the following sober (and sobering) remark about the people — our children and grandchildren — who are likely to be alive when the iconic year, 2100, dawns: All the decisions we make, for better and worse, will be…