Where will neoliberalism end?
The question is not how, or where, or when neoliberalism will end, but if it will, and what the left will do about it. The case of South Africa is instructive.
South Africa
The short, white woman with a South African accent
Urdang reflects her long friendship with fellow political exile Jennifer Davis, the anti-apartheid activist and changemaker.
On conspiracy theories
A resurgent conspiracy theory that Nelson Mandela died in 1985 reveals the growing hopelessness in South Africa that rampant inequality is irreversible.
Between democracy and despotism
South Africa introduces a new law which allows traditional leaders along with third parties to decide for communities, without their consent.
Ben Turok’s commitment to liberation, non-racialism and equality
Turok, who died at 92, was committed to fighting for the ideals of the left in South Africa. It is worth reviewing what his contribution to these ideals were in the final chapter of his life.
Detritus of revolution
Nthikeng Mohlele’s novel Small Things (2013) provides a rejoinder to J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999), depicting a black man’s perspective on the failures of South Africa’s transition.
At the edge of sight
A review of one of the few books to come out of the continent about photography and the majority of contributors are African.
Music is the weapon
During Christmas 1980, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba performed at a concert in Lesotho that deeply challenged and disturbed South Africa’s apartheid regime. The record of that concert is being reissued.
Difference and belonging
No child should choose between having food, love, and a roof over their head or being their full self.
An injury to one is an injury to all
Historian Peter Cole’s book on dockworkers in apartheid South Africa and San Francisco gets beyond slogans to vital historical truths.
A cinema for (some of) the people
South African film production house kykNET's dominance skews storytelling on the country's screens.
Jennifer Davis: Fearless and visionary
Davis, who died at 84 on October 15th, was a prominent leader of the anti-apartheid movement in the US and an analytical thinker and visionary.
The virtual reality of Walter Sisulu
While Sisulu's political career was less celebrated than Nelson Mandela, his wasn’t much less remarkable.
A worthy ancestor
The world is out of joint and Immanuel Wallerstein, one of its great public intellectuals, has left us—albeit with tools to battle the dying kicks of capitalism.
Rugby and rainbows
Reflecting on white joy, black celebration, and the meaning of the Springbok win at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Why, despite it all, I’m still a fan of the Springboks
We should not let the achievements of a multiracial Springbok rugby team, led by its first black captain, be commodified and commercialized in the service of neoliberalism.
Chester Williams: pioneer of excellence
The late Springbok rugby wing's legacy needs to be sustained, and the hope that he represented is perhaps more critical than ever.
Towards a working-class environmentalism for South Africa
It's going take a fully democratic anti-capitalist movement to fight climate change. The case of South Africa shows how long we have to go.
“Converting Eviction”
A reflection—by one of the group’s artists—on a Swiss-South African art project exploring eviction and extraction.
Are you safe? Please stay safe
The statistics and scenes of violence against black immigrants in South Africa are horrible. A young Cameroonian student in South Africa writes about what it is like to live under such insecurity.