The most unequal society in the world

[Dave A]

For some time agitators of discontent have been saying South Africa is the most unequal society in the world. It's just slipped in there - for example:

South Africa still has a lot to achieve before all South Africans are really free, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Monday.

"We cannot ignore the 58% of South Africans who live in poverty, who cannot really benefit from political freedom as they face a daily struggle to survive," spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement.

He said massive inequality had made South Africa the most unequal society in the world.
from story on M&G here

Could someone please point me to the study that has come to this conclusion. I've had a relative come back from Malawi and her report of the situation there has led me to seriously question the validity of the statement (and the severity of our poverty problem too, come to think of it).

[desA]

Oh my goodness, these people make such ignorant comments, don't they.

If they took one look at Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, China, Pakistan and so forth, they would realise just how good the citizens of SA have things.

[tec0]

Well with all the corruption sucking our country dry it is hard to believe that anyone is benefiting. So let us point out that schooling programs are failing along with the prison systems and law systems. We have no foundation to build on really.

We need to look at:

A ..> Social development programs
B ..> Welfare programs
C ..> Schooling programs “for ALL races�
D ..> Agricultural programs “for ALL races�
E ..> LAW systems
F ..> Municipality “and especially there services and budgeting�

It has been estimated that more than 25% of ALL fertile ground has been destroyed by mining groups. And to my knowledge there are NO plans to rehabilitate old “used up� mining grounds for agricultural use. So you do the math because the mining groups are buying up more farms than ever to continue to feed the high demand for coal. People forget so easily that food is more important than money...

[wynn]

Blame the government, Labour Unions and corrupt tenderpreneurs as well as the BEE elite, they are the ones who are being affirmed repeatedly at the expense of the poor and helpless, whilst the unions make it impossible for start up entrepreneurs to employ anybody.

When the masses wake up to the fact that it is not 'White Man's Money' that is being stolen, but their own.
It is their own houses, services, schools, roads, clinics, hospitals, infrastructure etc. that is being plundered.

Government, Labour and ANC spokespeople trying to deflect the anger of the masses on to businesses and people who have made a success of their financial affairs will only postpone their inevitable fall from grace.

Only 'FOOLS' will continue to vote the same way and expect a different outcome.

[tec0]

Perhaps the deceiver of fools? Perhaps a poetic injustice or so the facts will say. However propaganda and misdirection are powerful tools and deception to perspective will lead to ignorance and confusion, thus allowing for the same mistake to repeat itself indefinitely.

Still fear anger and desperation are also very powerful emotions. It is known that hardship is always followed by revolution. And revolution brings forth change. Sadly sometimes change comes to late.

[DonovanBanks]

Oh my goodness, these people make such ignorant comments, don't they.

If they took one look at Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, China, Pakistan and so forth, they would realise just how good the citizens of SA have things.

Would YOU like to live in a country where we measure ourselves against the worst in the world?

The better the lives of the rest of the people, the better all of our lives. When that is reached, we all do better in business as out customer base is larger.

[Dave A]

The better the lives of the rest of the people, the better all of our lives.

I have to agree

What burns me is people trying to peddle the notion that we're some kind of special case - that the rest of the world doesn't have these problems.

Is our poverty problem the worst in the world? No.
Are our services, amenities and education the worst in the world? No.
Is our corruption the worst in the world? No.

And on the other end of the scale -
Are the lifestyles of our elite the most extravagant in the world? Well, the lifestyle of bra Julius might give reason to wonder - but ultimately... No.

Poverty, inadequate services, poor education, corruption, flagrant abuse of position are all unacceptable and need to be fought tooth and nail wherever it exists. Fair enough.

But the most unequal society in the world? I've got a sneaking suspicion that we might well be pretty average by global standards.

[desA]

Methinks people doth protest too much.

[tec0]

Well yes there is that side of the coin. But just ask yourself “Everything Considered� are we moving forwards or backwards?

[DonovanBanks]

Well yes there is that side of the coin. But just ask yourself “Everything Considered� are we moving forwards or backwards?

For some, yes. Obviously not for others.
It's in my plans to do what I can to help others where the govt are failing. I know it's not my job, or my problem but can anyone honestly sit idly by while our fellow citizens are living in squalor?

[Butch Hannan]

I quite honestly think that we should stop measuring ourselves against the rest of the world. This is a dangerous practice because if we are better than the average we will be lulled into a sense of false security. I agree with you when you say we have to fight what is wrong with whatever means we have at our disposal.
We must not be happy that we are not the worst in the world. We must strive to become the best!!!

[desA]

I quite honestly think that we should stop measuring ourselves against the rest of the world. This is a dangerous practice because if we are better than the average we will be lulled into a sense of false security. I agree with you when you say we have to fight what is wrong with whatever means we have at our disposal.
We must not be happy that we are not the worst in the world. We must strive to become the best!!!

You know, Butch, I remember a time when we were proud to be South Africans. Not from the point of screwed-up politics, but rather from the can-do perspective. We were not afraid to innovate & take risk, where appropriate. You know, at one stage, we even had nukes. We did a lot of spectacular engineering research & in some areas were very much to the forefront in the world. Our university standards were benchmarked against some of the best universities in the world.

We were able to excel.

Then came the opening up of the power-base & rightly so. Many of us actively campaigned for, or supported this change. At that point, a switch seemed to turn off & the innovation train hit the end-stop.

I am starting to see a faint glimmer of hope on the development front again, in some areas. I have actively campaigned to birth a number of radically new technologies in SA - these will create an enormous amount of new opportunities, if managed correctly. The most frustrating thing has been to come up against the professional managers whose only answer is 'NO'. Most times, they have not even taken the time to try & understand the concept. Ironically, when they are shown that a Euro-Merkin JV is about to kick off in this field - ok, then... MAYBE I was correct in my forward vision.

This is ridiculous.

Now, how does this translate down into the rest of society?

Empower the visionaries & forward thinkers - an uber think-tank if you will - to develop & craft strategies that will move SA into the forefront of the arena when our citizens will be most profitably used. Then, go out & look for international partners to assist with capital, technology, know-how, to help birth this innovative process. This is the Singapore model.

Come on, people. Stop bickering, & finger-pointing. Let's move forward into a new paradigm.

[achengms]

No country is perfect and all of them have some problem or the other. SA currently has it better than most other countries. Of course there are issues and things will improve with time. I agree with DesA above that the Singapore model is quite good and it can be applied to a country like SA as well.

[ChrisNG53]

Most of the replies display an instinctive reluctance, on account of relative privilege, to accept what is now a reality. It is symptomatic of a deeper problem at the heart of which is our disunity, mainly racial, as a society.
Come on, just view the miles and miles of shanty towns ... starting as you fly in at OR, Cape Town, East London ... So even if we are not THE MOST UNEQUAL society, we are in a pretty rotten state ... and that really is the point.
See -http://coginito.blogspot.com/2010/12/pope-australians-japanese-all-said-it.html

[adrianh]

Nothing like giving your own blog as a citation. Hey Chris, you sure do waffle a lot on your blog. You go round and round in circles feeling sorry for yourself. You wanna say you're sorry, knock yourself out. There comes a time when saying sorry doesn't cut it anymore. Get over it, its done. My 9 & 11 year old daughters don't have to say sorry for being born white. I think that your views are very naive!