politics | Terry Bell Writes

Browsing All posts tagged under »politics«

SONA 2019: Mbeki without the poetry

February 9, 2019

Hard questions now need to be asked and hard facts faced as politicians continue to make extravagant promises that, on even cursory examination, ignore reality. And that does not even mean looking ahead to the consequences of the fourth industrial revolution that the world has already embarked on.

A citizens’ path to true democrcy

February 2, 2019

Without democratic control over, and the right to recall, elected representatives — these being the “basics” early anti-apartheid unions strove for — the corrupting and monied minorities will continue to have a relatively free hand in manipulating and controlling society.

Davos & the spectre of populism

January 26, 2019

Populism was a spectre haunting the super rich when they met in Davos, Switzerland. this past week. But while this emergence of nationalist, protectionist sentiment does pose a threat to global corporations, it does not threaten the system based on competition and the exploitation of labour. It also carries with it the poison of zenophobia.

As SA elections loom: a call for clarity & organisation

January 13, 2019

It's swings and roundabouts for the workers of the world, with the overall trajectory being fewer jobs and lower pay. This is the reality as the World Bank claims — citing China and India as prime examples — that global poverty is declining; the implication being that the economic system is working. It is not and it is, in fact, becoming increasingly destructive.

Trade wars & steps in the right direction

November 18, 2018

It seems essential to take steps to move away from the clearly dangerous and damaging economic dogma of neo-liberalism. Far from being either free or fair, it is, in fact, an anarchic system that creates the "race to the bottom" that so harms the majority to the benefit of a tiny minority while being destructive, overall.

Lying our way to catastrophe

November 16, 2018

The global economy that affects us all is based on lies; on the distortion and misrepresentation of the views of usually much lauded economists. It seems crucial to drive this point home as we continue to be told that greater productivity and the up-skilling and re-skilling of workers will vanquish poverty and unemployment. In a […]

Our common economic ailment

November 4, 2018

The SA economy,worked out by corruption, seems to be well and truly up the creek and with only a very fragile investment paddle to hand.

Cutting through the double talk

July 21, 2018

Politicians tend always to claim to act in the best interests of all. But is is essential to look closely to see whatever detrimental consequences their professedly beneficial policies have, whether they have to do with recycling or the expropriateion of land.