

Shawn Hagedorn
For 20 years, Shawn Hagedorn has been regularly writing articles in leading SA publications, focusing primarily on economic development. For over two years, he wrote a biweekly column titled “Myths and Misunderstandings” without ever lacking subject material. Visit shawn-hagedorn.com/, and follow him on Twitter @shawnhagedorn
- Total Post (108)
- Comments (2)
Articles By This Author

Don’t let patronage discourage voting
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Mar 20, 2023
How should we respond to school leavers who say, ‘I don’t care about politics or what happened in the past, I just want a real

How the ANC distracts us from solutions
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Mar 7, 2023
Our ruling party’s corruption, incompetence and ideological indulgences are so extreme and unrelenting that they distract opponents from developing the powerful solutions which could attract

Las Vegas solutions for SA
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Feb 20, 2023
The Godfather trilogy spotlighted issues and answers we should freshly consider. How it informed American audiences about political protection of the mob in Las Vegas

When solutions are blocked by social justice spin
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Feb 6, 2023
If irrefutable evidence showed the world would benefit from permanently exempting Elon Musk from paying taxes, would you be ok with that? If the US

Can AI help SA?
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Jan 23, 2023
Asking ChatGPT to identify the most profound change of the last 200 years yields a lengthy response about the Industrial Revolution. An AI-styled political correctness

Mandela’s style versus Kissinger’s
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Jan 9, 2023
Who would be better at ending the Russo-Ukrainian war, a Kissinger type of negotiator or someone with a Mandela-like leadership style? Why is this relevant

Purging politically induced learning blockages
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Dec 26, 2022
The Covid pandemic freshly queried how we define ‘freedom’ and ‘to live’. Meanwhile, political actors sought to shape and exploit such views. A year ago

How the ANC’s playbook resembles Donald Trump’s
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Dec 12, 2022
The ANC’s policies, and antics, are so frequently counterproductive that its opponents confidently presume they can do better. Yet, as its rivals lack plans to

Why does Africa continue to underperform?
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Nov 28, 2022
Now is the time, and South Africa the place, to understand why Africa has been such an economic laggard. Scars remain from nearly all of

The next twist in SA’s social justice saga
- By Shawn Hagedorn
- . Nov 14, 2022
Is social justice to economic development what physics is to engineering? No. Social justice mixes ethics with believing in a false utopia. Economic development, like