Against the tide by Steven Friedman

The real divide in this country is not that between the government and citizens. It is that between the one-third who are heard and the two-thirds who are not. The problem with the national dialogue is not that it is being run by the government rather than private foundations. It is that it will give a platform to the minority we always hear, not the majority who need to be heard.

This is the view of this week's Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, please visit the Against the Tide website. To discuss a free or reduced subscription, contact info@againstthetide.co.za

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.