Jacob Zuma's political irrationality and its dire consequences
South Africa’s economy is crippled because political leaders eschew reason and logic
In popular conceptions of what it means to be human is the universal notion that our species — homo sapiens — is essentially rational. It’s commonly believed that as rational beings, our thoughts and actions are informed by reason and logic that precludes the influence of emotions. On the other hand, irrationality is associated with defective reasoning, perverse thinking, being excessively emotional, or at worst, crazy. Democracy, and by extension good governance, presupposes the capacity of political leadership to engage in reasoned debate, informed decision making and measured judgments. In the South African context, it’s assumed that this will all happen within the framework of the Constitution. In this way democratic governance is premised on rationality. It appears to be unthinkable without it. But is this true? No. And certainly not in South Africa now. Irrationality is the term frequently used to describe the country’s political landscape. This is clear from the coverage of t...
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