Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

It is obviously a problem when leaders who speak for people who struggle to get by are found to be living the high life. But the real problem is not the failings of some individuals. It is that, since democracy dawned, the people who matter in this country have not been trying to dismantle apartheid - they have been trying to make it non-racial.

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.