Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

Despite all the negativity, the President is right to claim that South Africa really is a much better place to be than it was in 1994. But he is wrong to claim that this is because of everything the governing party has done for the country. It is because of everything democracy has done for the country.

This is the argument of this week's Against the Tide  column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, visit the Against the Tide  website. To discuss a reduced or free 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.