Why November 4th is so important in Gauteng
The local government elections on November 4th are of special importance in Gauteng. The province is the economic hub of the country, and its three largest cities, Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekhuruleni, are all collapsing after years of ANC rule. And as the most urbanised province in a fast-urbanising country, Gauteng points to where the politics of the country might be headed.
The Real Trade Secret: Wildlife Conservation Is More Complex Than Activist Admits
South Africa Antarctic and Canada’s Arctic are worlds apart; however, people in both regions share the frustration of outsiders trying to dictate how wildlife conservation and sustainable use hunting should take place.
There is nothing suicidal about empathy
The theory that the West is dying of “suicidal empathy” misunderstands liberty, misunderstands the West, and misunderstands empathy itself.
Freedom of thought vs political noise
I was recently reminded of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s observation that people demand freedom of speech as compensation for the freedom of thought they seldom use.
A lefty prof comes out for Helen
Prolific and persistent, Prof Adam Habib has been a fixture of South Africa’s intellectual milieu for decades. His contributions include books, scholarly articles, opinion pieces and television appearances. These made him, arguably, the only South African academic administrator – at the University of Johannesburg, then at Wits, and now at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London – whose name became widely known.
Fixing Joburg: put the city first
Johannesburg is facing significant social, economic and infrastructural challenges that demand an energetic, decisive and capable mayor who can halt the city’s decline and pursue a transformative developmental agenda.
Habituation: the toddler in the razor wire
It must be about 40 years ago now that I read the short story by Nadine Gordimer in which a toddler gets trapped in the razor wire surrounding his parents’ upmarket Johannesburg home.
Open letter to President Macron: test of conservation policy is not whether it makes Europeans feel better about wildlife
The real test of conservation is not whether a policy makes Europeans feel better about wildlife. The test is whether it leaves more wildlife, more habitat and stronger incentives to conserve them for the generations that follow. We respectfully submit that France’s present policy fails that test.
South Africa’s hidden tax: why crime is now a line item
Every business operating in South Africa already pays a tax that never appears on a South African Revenue Service assessment.
The price of some supposedly priceless things
Every creature has needs, and therefore values whatever meets those needs.