Chris Patterson
A student of politics, Chris Patterson is a researcher at the Institute of Race Relations. He enjoys a good political thriller, and has an avid interest in photography as well as reading. The internet is a good friend, too.
- Total Post (24)
Articles By This Author
The road to a failing state is paved with fake transformation
- By Chris Patterson
- . Aug 31, 2025
South Africa is a place not of grievance, but of opportunity. I’ve been reading Tony Leon’s Hope & Fear: Reflections of a Democrat and though
Freedom from poverty: the cost of fake transformation
- By Chris Patterson
- . Jul 29, 2025
Twenty-seven years after the passage of the Employment Equity Act, and twenty-three years after the passage of that millstone around neck of South Africa’s economy,
#RightToOwn: ensuring a prosperous future
- By Chris Patterson
- . Jun 28, 2025
Countless opinion pieces, briefing memos, and explainers have been drafted on the Expropriation Act since its assent on 20 December 2024, even despite the assent
Breaching the line: beyond racial empowerment
- By Chris Patterson
- . Jun 21, 2025
Over the past month, something has started to shift in South Africa. More and more people are questioning whether race-based policies like Black Economic Empowerment
Municipalities, do your duty
- By Chris Patterson
- . Apr 16, 2025
Budget 2025, with the drama surrounding it, is all the rage these days. With the Government of National Unity on the ropes, let’s keep talking
Read the Budget: it’s your money
- By Chris Patterson
- . Mar 18, 2025
“South Africa could come to a standstill,” I wrote in August last year, after the Appropriation Bill was passed by Parliament. Not until days before
A BIG mess: Social Grants and Public Employment
- By Chris Patterson
- . Feb 18, 2025
There is one thing the ANC has been consistent about over the years: their commitment to ensuring that millions of South Africans stay reliant on
South Africa’s Youth: A #WhatSACanBe opportunity
- By Chris Patterson
- . Jan 21, 2025
Congratulations to the matric class of 2024. Theirs is an achievement many South African children only hope to attain, but even for these matriculants, what
SA’s water crisis: small towns dry up, too
- By Chris Patterson
- . Nov 19, 2024
National government, provincial governments and municipalities are not only fooling the public, they are also fooling themselves. While Gauteng’s water crisis – no longer looming
Competition – the backbone of economic freedom
- By Chris Patterson
- . Oct 22, 2024
Many of South Africa’s problems can be laid at the foot of our state-owned entities (SOEs). Over the past ten years, the South African Government