Too few people seem to take the work of those two inimitably emancipatory thinkers, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, seriously. And I am not talking about those nit-picking academics who engage with them at an analytic level to argue about whether they got Marx right, or Foucault, or Deleuze, and so on. What I mean […]
News/Politics
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics, Sport
The Soweto Marathon and important lessons running taught me
Running the Soweto Half-Marathon was a drastic step in my sporting life, and I achieved more than crossing the finishing line. Before the starting gun, I told myself that everything I had done while preparing for this race was behind me. Now was the time to give my best and make this race my magnum […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Thank you, Mr Trump!
Dear Donald Trump, Thank you! In the days following the election I have seen numerous articles highlighting the follies of your choices, the irresponsibility of your comments, the virulence of your campaigning and the divisiveness of your words. In spite of all this, I would like to take a moment and say thank you. Thank […]
Posted inNews/Politics
From Hitler to Zuma to Trump: We are simply bad at democracy
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” This is supposedly a quote from Winston Churchill. Whether it is a real quote or simply a quote birthed from the internet, the statement holds true. When it comes to mass governance the sad truth is that humanity is kind of bad […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
A promising PhD-student’s take on the so-called ‘Zupta’- phenomenon
What follows here is a piece by one of my and Prof. Pieter Duvenage’s graduate students, Casper Lötter, who is a PhD-candidate in Social Philosophy at the University of the Free State – it first appeared in the Weekend Post on 5 November: ‘In a recent and valuable contribution, Raymond Suttner asks, “What is the […]
Posted inEnvironment, General, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Let’s remember, some things still work
These are troublesome times, all over the world. Challenges are real and there is no point in pretending it’s all going to be okay. Let’s face it, we can’t recover from the dysfunctions of so-called democracy just like that. There are still deep racial divisions, underfunded education systems, bigoted leaders and unfinished peace processes to […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The assassination of Shaka the unifier is a lesson for the ANC
South Africans celebrate the enigmatic historical figure of Shaka Zulu, the military revolutionary who rose from illegitimacy to be a unifying monarch who used alliances and the occasional judicial assassination to build a Zulu powerhouse on South Africa’s east coast in the 1800s. Ironically, while Shaka’s use of military power, diplomacy and patronage succeeded at […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Asinakuthula umhlab’ubolile: the poetry of Nontsizi Mgqwetho
Kaulirol’iqinga Siwavun’amazimba Hoha Mrs M. Maxeke Mti omde orara wakulo Deborah Bhikica emva kwabavumi Mrs M. Maxeke Ze nengcwaba lamagqwira Libe ndaweninye (Ho, Mrs M. Maxeke, Tall, bitter tree, Deborah’s sister, Give us advice On harvesting crops Glean in the wake of the reapers Mrs M. Maxeke So every witch Drops down dead) These are […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Exorcising cancer cells in Government relations
Whilst we are on the topic of getting rid of rogue elements within the government and its agencies: how about… Another Special State Capture Report (the Report) (led by the Public Protector with the services of a retired Justice of the Constitutional Court enlisted as the Commissioner, together with the services of two practicing Senior […]
Posted inBusiness, Gender violence, General, Health, Media, News/Politics
Tim Noakes vs Dr Ferdinantus Booyens – the curious machinations of the Health Professions Council of South Africa
It’s astonishing how much effort the Health Professions Council of SA has put into pursuing Tim Noakes, even to the extent of announcing a victory before judgment is handed down. They’re not usually that dedicated though. Take a look at the bizarre case of Dr Ferdinantus Booyens, who dominated the front page of Durban’s newspapers […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Better organisation would make Fees Must Fall more successful
There are so many phenomenal stories about our political freedom that are less told. The story of Ruth First is such a story. First was a white women who forwent personal privilege and devoted her life to the anti-apartheid struggle. She was eventually killed by the apartheid government in 1982. Yesterday, I attended an event […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
UCT Black academic caucus statement
21 October 2016 The UCT Black Academic Caucus believes that the current situation at our universities necessitates a national multi-stakeholder solution. The increasing securitisation and violence on our campuses has become untenable and cannot be resolved through negotiations between the executives and student groupings within individual institutions. The student movement that began at the University […]