Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

Will the coalition government favour business at the expense of the poor? This is what its critics claim but it will be far harder for the government to help business than we are being told. And making life easier for businesses might help fight poverty and inequality - if the businesses which are helped are in townships and shack settlements, not glass and concrete office blocks.

That is the view of this week's 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.