Rising expectations

Iain Edwards

doi:10.17159/sajs.2016/a0153

Abstract

In 1953 Arthur Keppel-Jones, the pioneer of the South African alternate, predictive and apocalyptic history genre, published a work entitled When Smuts goes: A history of South Africa from 1952-2010, first published in 2015. In his Introduction, Keppel-Jones makes three telling points: South Africans resist asking hard and difficult questions; South Africans show irresponsible optimism in the future by choosing oft-tried but ill-tested views as future solutions; and that 'the salvation of the country can lie only in a reversal of historic[al] tendencies, a reversal so thorough as to constitute a revolution' (p. xi-xii). The four books reviewed here - all of which were published in 2015 - are important contributions to current public debates. All of the authors are well-known professional media figures. Ferial Haffajee is the editor of City Press, Songezo Zibi is the immediately past editor of Business Day and Justice Malala and Eusebius McKaiser are noted public analysts. Two of the books - those by Haffajee and McKaiser - concern identity politics and race. The books by Malala and Zibi focus on politics, leadership and public policy. The books differ in approach and analysis, yet raise common themes.

Highlights

BOOK TITLE: We have begun our descent: How to stop South Africa losing its way AUTHOR: Justice Malala
BOOK TITLE: What if there were no whites in South Africa?
Ferial Haffajee is the editor of City Press, Songezo Zibi is the immediately past editor of Business Day and Justice Malala and Eusebius McKaiser are noted public analysts

Summary

Rising expectations

BOOK TITLE: We have begun our descent: How to stop South Africa losing its way AUTHOR: Justice Malala. In 1953 Arthur Keppel-Jones, the pioneer of the South African alternate, predictive and apocalyptic history genre, published a work entitled When Smuts goes: A history of South Africa from 1952–2010, first published in 20151 In his Introduction, Keppel-Jones makes three telling points: South Africans resist asking hard and difficult questions; South Africans show irresponsible optimism in the future by choosing oft-tried but ill-tested views as future solutions; and that ‘the salvation of the country can lie only in a reversal of historic[al] tendencies, a reversal so thorough as to constitute a revolution’ McKaiser is skilled in unpicking public debates, but does not dissect and analyse – he asserts and notes, often to make a sweeping statement. In 2015, as McKaiser was writing this book, the South African Institute of Race Relations conducted extensive research into race relations in South Africa. He asserts that ‘(t)he year 2015 is spectacular testimony to active young citizenship, and the overshadowing of lazy elders whose time has expired’ (p. 61)

What if there were no whites in South Africa?

Conclusion