I can imagine readers thinking to themselves what a nonsensical title this post bears – atonal music as a model for democracy? Really? What possible connection could there be? And yet, someone familiar with the atonal music of Arnold Schönberg, and with the idea of optimal citizen-participation as a criterion of “true” democracy, might just […]
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Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Are today’s secularists really secular?
By Ryan Peter Yesterday my Twitter feed went crazy after Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s speech “ Law and Religion in Africa” was posted on the internet. In it our chief justice talks about “how the interplay between law and religion could yield a product that is for the common good of all in Africa’s pluralistic […]
Posted inBusiness
Can the new administration inspire investor confidence?
The latest gross domestic product numbers have confirmed that our economy is experiencing very serious strains and the ongoing platinum miners’ strike is a major contributor to the negative trend. At the heart of the problem is the uncomfortable reality that the majority of the unemployed are unskilled and yet we are progressively moving towards […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Oh my Gad! Chief Justice Mogoeng wants to mix religion and law
For many who spent their childhood in Pretoria, they’ll remember all too well the threats parents wielded to curb errant behaviour. They would temper a lust for misadventure with the threat of the stout school in Hammanskraal. A hint of madness would be tempered with the threat of Weskoppies in Pretoria West. And any bent […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Reducing Zille-Mazibuko saga to race a dangerous game
By Kameel Premhid and Dan de Kadt In a recent article for the Mail & Guardian, Verashni Pillay, an associate editor, argues that “white mentors need a wake-up call”. Her central thesis is that white mentors are prone to feeling a sense of ownership over their “black protégés” and that they struggle to cope when […]
Posted inNews/Politics
We need an African renaissance and pan-Africanism for a better Africa
Cheikh Anta Diop, the pioneer of the concept of African renaissance, would have us understand the concept as a call to and a programme of action for the renewal of the African continent. Pan-Africanism, as espoused by its originators such as Ras Makonnen, has to do with the mobilisation of Africans and people of African […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mazibuko: W(h)ither the truth?
What is the “truth” regarding Lindiwe Mazibuko’s resignation as parliamentary leader? Last week I wrote a short opinion piece on the Sunday Times’ bombshell revelation “Shock as Mazibuko quits DA”, critiquing the paper for its misleading headline, articulating my splenetic disrelish of this new episode of “South African-politics-as-Days-of-Our-Lives”, and praising Mazibuko for her courageous decision […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Cinderella and the ugly sisters take it public
The South African electorate had its Cinderella moment at the May 7 Ball – briefly courted and feted. Now it’s back to the domestic drudgery of the other 364 days of the year – abused and ignored until the local elections role around in two years’ time. Unfortunately, unlike as in the fairy tale, there […]
Posted inGeneral, Tech
Exploring space…
Space – a word with so many meanings, literal and figurative. I need my space. Is there space in the lounge for the new table? Headspace is essential for psychic growth. Deep space. Newtonian space, Einsteinian space. Space-time. Cyberspace. Virtual space. Space of flows. Space – the final frontier (any Trekkie would recognise this one). […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
‘House of Cards’: Machiavelli and Shakespeare all in one
In this South African season of political ambitions, would you like to know what principles the Florentine philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli advised aspiring political leaders — specifically “princes” — to adhere to ruthlessly in the 16th century in his famous (or is it notorious) treatise, The Prince (1515)? Or what Shakespeare, holding up the mirror to […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Lessons in democracy from the poor
The decision by members of Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) in KwaZulu-Natal to endorse the Democratic Alliance in the 2014 election has not only raised many eyebrows, but has also unleashed stinging vitriol against this branch of the shack-dwellers’ movement. Started in 2005, AbM with its anti-evictions focus and its campaigns for decent public housing is recognised […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What’s wrong with Mmusi Maimane?
Meryl Streep in the movie Doubt plays the role of a nun, Sister Aloysius Beauvier. The character is a subversive antagonist that casts doubt on articles of faith yet is ambivalent about what is the truth. The lingering feeling of doubt that Sister Aloysius conjures is perhaps equalled by the doubt I feel about a […]