How Khaya Lam is advancing land reform
Tenure reform is an important yet often underappreciated pillar of land reform in South Africa, where debates about land are overwhelmingly centred on myths that are used to justify depriving disfavoured communities of the right to private property.
Why AfriForum is wrong about school rugby
Recent claims by AfriForum that school rugby has become compromised by racial bias show that the organisation fundamentally misunderstands what has happened in South African rugby over the past two decades.
Ideological beliefs are about belonging, not truth
Have you ever wondered why some people simply cannot see the sense in your political views? They may be intelligent and fairly well-informed, yet they appear immune to facts, evidence and common sense. They seem to make increasingly bizarre claims about what is happening as the argument develops. Their saying the same of you simply proves their disconnection from reality.
Zannyphobia
Noah and I are exchanging views. I shall summarize them here, but before I do so I must set the scene. We are at the dinner table, and Noah is sitting opposite me. The arrangement is one I favour.
Are the kids of today ignorant?
Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon, but I’m often startled by the lack of general knowledge of younger people. Am I right? Are they stupid?
A new Yookay race-based concession: plagiarism is fine
The reason why it’s so exhausting debating with academics – those on the extreme left – is not because they’re clever, but because they get so angry.
Soft coups, self-coups, and pretend-democracy
Several months ago, something scandalous happened that in substance, if not form, broke a part of South Africa’s constitutional integrity, and yet it became a muted and ordinary part of the news cycle. What does our non-reaction to this event say about our democracy?
The inhumane face of war
Oleg was conscripted in 2020 into the army. His father was serving in the Azov Battalion. ‘I wanted to join up again with him when he rejoined in 2014, but he told me to finished my veterinary studies.’ As a result, when he went into the army, he joined Azov’s K9 unit, a banner of which is attached to the back of his wheelchair. As result of his medical skills, Oleg became a surgeon in Azov. Like Andriy, he was captured trying to break out with a group of 15
Living for all eternity – the tech barons and their obsession with longevity science
I remember a film from decades ago, when I was young enough to have had few worries about ageing. It was called Zardoz, and it starred Sean Connery. The plot swirled around a glass-domed city in some future world, peopled by those wealthy enough to have purchased eternal youth and health.
Johannesburg’s fiscal crisis, the outlook for SA’s fuel supply, and the ANC declining support
The electoral consequences of disillusionment with the ANC, Johannesburg’s municipal woes, and the impact of the off-on Middle East war on South Africa’s fuel supply feature in this latest edition of monthly highlights from research by the Centre for Risk Analysis (CRA) on political, economic and geopolitical events affecting South African businesses.