Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

This country would be a better place, we are told, if the parties in the new government forget their differences. But that is not going to happen and we should be grateful that it won't. Democracy does not mean that we forget our differences - it means that we express them in ways that don't harm others. The more people can express their differences openly and peacefully, the better off we are.

That is the view of my weekly Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, 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.