The Brexit campaign and latest
US Presidential election campaigns, not to mention our own “State of Capture”
report, provide irrefutable evidence that politics is a fundamentally divisive
and destructive way to make a living.
Politicians the world over devote
their careers to finding ways of dividing society, hoping that their share of
the division is bigger than their opponents. Whether it is in a quest for
power, or money, or both, politicians thrive on social division. Incumbent
governments strive to divide and rule,
while opposition parties strive to divide
and conquer.
South Africa is heaven on earth
for politicians, as our nation is historically pre-primed to be very easily
divided. Whether it is along financial, racial, tribal,
a myriad of religious, sexist, or other “cultural” lines, it is far too easy
for political rhetoric to create tension between one faction or community and
another. For goodness sake, even minority whites can still be divided between
English and Afrikaans speakers if the rhetoric is pitched right (pun intended).
Some elements of mainstream
media play their part in fanning the flames of disunity, with sensationalism
and contextual manipulation being their trump cards. Many individuals are also
intent on pushing the self-destruct button by using insidious social media
platforms to vomit their puerile hatreds under the guise of intellectual
exchanges.
It is also not rocket science to
recognise that capitalism and democracy are conjoined twins. If separated
neither is perfect, but they are still better than the socialist dictatorship alternative.
Unfortunately in South Africa the
ANC has perfected a poisonous system of crony capitalism[1]
that ties business and political fortunes so tightly that it is difficult to
keep track of who’s doing what to whom, and for how much. As we have seen with
Nenegate, crony capitalism also has the capacity to destroy communal wealth.
Those not engaged with JZ’s crony
capitalism have, in general, adopted a form of unbridled “capitalism” that involves
making more and more money, simply for the sake of making more and more money. I
am a capitalist through-and-through, but even my closest friends are critical
when I ask How much money is enough?
I also believe that a
prerequisite for sustainable capitalism is a high level of social
responsibility. Do not confuse social responsibility with socialism, communism,
or Marxist/Leninist Fanonian doctrines, all of which have failed spectacularly,
even though some in South Africa may try to convince us otherwise.
Social responsibility is the ethic that businesses should balance profit-making activities
with activities that benefit society: it involves developing businesses with a
positive relationship to the society in which they operate.
For example: In a
country where we have so many people living below the breadline, is it socially
responsible for a food retailer to be making so much profit that they can
afford to pay a single person in their organisation a R100m bonus?
In a country
where medical costs are escalating at a rate way above inflation, and so many
of our people have no access to quality healthcare, is it socially responsible
for a medical aid group to be making so much profit that they can afford to start a bank?
In a country with
such a high rate of poverty and unemployment, is it socially responsible to
complain about the introduction of a minimum wage, yet make no comment about inordinately high CEO salaries? Just asking.
So how do we try to fix all this?
First of all, explode the myth
that our government is there to serve the common good. Ongoing political and
legal shenanigans have clearly proven that our government serves only
themselves, and the ambitions of an exploitative elite minority – and this
travesty is labelled “democracy”.
Also explode the myth that
things will be radically different if another political party takes the reins
of power. The fact that all major parties have refused to disclose their source of funding begs the question: what are they hiding
and why? And on the business premise that there
is no such thing as a free lunch, who is behind the scenes pulling their
strings? While different faces may
provide a superficial impression of change, the underlying interests of their funders
will always dictate a political party’s overriding policies. We need to know
who these people and organisations are.
Then explode the
flavour-of-the-month myth that getting rid of Jacob Zuma will, on its own, cure
the fundamentally divisive and destructive malaise that afflicts our country as
a whole.
Right now, South African politics is a rigged game. “It's like playing poker where your opponent sets all the rules, in
which he gets as many cards as he wants while you are limited to five, in which
he has a half dozen wild cards while you have none, in which he gets to look at
the cards you draw while his cards remain secret. Did I mention that he also
gets to deal each hand and can cheat without penalty? "Government
of the people, by the people, and for the people" is a useful definition
of "democracy", but a close look at the power of money, and of those
few who have a lot of it, makes it abundantly clear that no part of this
definition applies to the society in which we live.”[2]
So that then leaves us to fend
for ourselves, and I believe that the best way to truly Save South Africa starts at the local
level. We must begin by reaching out
across the cultural and economic divides within our own local communities, to
see what can be done to mend fences already wrecked by politicians, and make
progress towards forging a future together. Once this is done we can take a united,
bottom-up push-back position against corruption, unacceptable top-down political
policy dictates, and socially irresponsible political rhetoric. It will also
remind politicians that they work for our benefit, not the other way around.
[1]Crony Capitalism A form of "capitalism" that is
used, abused and manipulated by those in political power to benefit and serve
well connected special interest groups desiring to obtain wealth, revenues and
"market share" - Free Market
Capitalism vs. Crony Capitalism -Richard
Ebeling - July 15, 2014
