The more things change…
It is a measure of how things have changed that during the early years of democracy, South Africa’s decisive election was always seen as somewhere over the horizon – “It’ll be the one after the upcoming one” – while now
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To vote or not to vote – a democratic existential crisis
There are two kinds of people in South Africa right now: those who believe that if you don't vote, you can't complain, and those who believe that if you do vote, you can't complain because you voted for it. Both
News Focus: Grain, guns and grievance
Vladimir Putin pitches Russia as Africa’s anti-colonial friend For a man waging a war of conquest in Europe, Vladimir Putin is remarkably keen on denouncing imperialism. At the third Russia-Africa summit, held in Moscow on October 28th and 29th, he
Cognitive capital and the fate of nations
In academic circles that specialise in the theory of economic growth, human (or cognitive) capital has become an important addition to the original models. Cognitive capital is simply the average measure of stock of mental skills within each nation. We
Garth Zietsman and the case against scientism
I have to take issue with the contributions Garth Zietsman has recently made to the Daily Friend. That he seems incapable of formulating a single coherent and propositional sentence is for me an insult to the intelligence and the taste
Cricket at your Perryl
My cousin Peregrine, a cricket fanatic, is visiting us. Well, not us, exactly. Out from England to watch the current Australian tour, he is unabashedly bumming on us. “Wandaful to be with you, ha! ha!” he cries, the soul of
The ANC is looking depressed
In today’s livestream, John Endres and Nicholas Lorimer discuss the local government elections and illegal mining. https://youtube.com/live/PMNr4hRlMQc?feature=share
Thank Beijing for your cheap electric car
The EU’s new ambassador wants South Africa to tax Chinese electric vehicles, to shield us from unfair competition. It isn’t South Africans he wants to shield.
Confronting the limits of Israeli democracy
Consider the arithmetic of a hypothetical in which Israel, the West Bank and Gaza become a single democratic state, with universal adult suffrage and Israel’s existing proportional electoral system. The political dilemma confronting the Israeli right is not difficult to