PICTURE: GCIS With local government elections coming up in August 2016, South Africa’s biggest political parties recently launched their manifestos at mass rallies. The focal point was the stadium itself. Or, rather, the stadium become ἀμφιθέατρον (amphithéātron): a place for viewing politics from both sides.An ancient philosophical quarrel is being rehearsed here. It is the quarrel on the uneasy relationship between truth and appearance, between rationality and feeling, that famously made Greek philosopher Platoexpel the poets from his ideal city in his book, “The Republic”. It is what philosopher and cultural critic Walter Benjamin called the fascist tendency to aestheticise the political.If there is a spectacular political party in South African at the moment, then it is the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). And whether we love or loathe them, we sure enjoy talking about their provocative use of colour, dress, insignia and general theatricality.Dressed for parliament in their red ...
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