Our most divisive issue is also the most misunderstood and incoherent. As a young boy, I would often take long, lonely walks in the veld of the Free State Gold Fields: barefoot with hardened soles impervious to sharp pebbles and blades of dry grass; but still intuitively sensitive to the energy and magnetism of the virgin earth; the large promise of nature; flat and wide open spaces; of freedom and the mystery of what lay beyond the horizon. My fantasy would often expand to o

President Ramaphosa’s difficult choice. Not all popular leaders are good; and not all good leaders are popular. Sometimes the right thing is not the popular thing, and often the popular thing is not the right thing. It’s often been said that one of the flaws of democracy is that it blurs that logic, giving rise to a political structure that thrives on false promises and wild rhetoric disconnected from reality and creating a dangerous gap between it and expectations. We call t

A groundswell of clearheaded action to counter the populist hysteria in the land issue. If there is one thing that the economic gods will not forgive, it is the consistent plundering of resources without value being added. It may take years, decades, or even centuries, but inexorable forces will manifest in imbalances, disconnects, shortages, discord and conflict. Adding value means creating wealth and is the most fundamental justification for any commercial endeavour or use