Is it a good idea to have private security firms to carry out state justice? What is distributive justice and how does it shape ideology? Does the private sector serve society at large better than a capable state? If a government doesn't trust its citizens, what is the logical conclusion? Armed forces are trained to kill, so what happens when their barrels are aimed at their own citizens? Brought to you by Nando’s.
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Dear President Ramaphosa, I’m going to keep this brief, because I know you’re dealing with a lot: We’ve all been ready to support you and your administration in your efforts to save lives from this pandemic. Even people like me, who have questioned the idea of a lockdown as the best response have decided to comply and do whatever we could to help. We set aside our concerns over the heavy-handedness of the police and army; we swallowed and accepted that poor people in informal housing would be crammed into their one-room dwellings for a month; we limited our trips to the shops and even accepted not being able to buy hot food (for whatever inexplicable reason)...
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Mandy Wiener has been keeping a fascinating perspective during South Africa's lockdown - interrogating everything from who some of the political decision makers are, to weighing out the pros and cons of a cigarette ban. And of course, a catch-up with the award-winning journalist wouldn't be valid without also touching on how organised crime is thriving in a time like this... and how her gangster contacts are doing!
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Is big business still big?
Employment: we delve into the stats on South Africans’ opinions on racially-based employment; we also ask whether it’s possible to make cadre employment work. Politics: the strife of the Cape Flats is well-documented, and it raises the question: why does it seem that solving societal problems is not a priority for career politicians? Economics: is big business in South Africa still big? And finally, South Africa's lockdown hasn’t just been the last five months, it's been the last decade. Brought to you by Nando’s.
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