SOCIOECONOMIC CRISIS
Policies for uplifting poor people need to reflect human nature
The most socioeconomically damaging policy is affirmative action, which does not serve economically depressed black majorities
SA’s ostensibly intractable socioeconomic problems are a consequence of government policy, whether deliberate or unintentional. No amount of indulging in scapegoating, such as blaming colonialism, imperialism, apartheid, the private sector or the now discredited concept of white monopoly capital, can negate this self-evident truism. The fault ultimately lies squarely with policy makers, specifically those in the parliamentary arena who have the final say in crafting policy with which the rest of the population, especially private enterprise, must comply. The most socioeconomically damaging policy is affirmative action, euphemistically termed broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) in SA. For the neediest and the most economically depressed black majorities, it does not and inherently cannot bring about the economic empowerment and upliftment for which it was conceptualised. The story of affirmative action in SA mimics all cases in all countries where such policies have been ...
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