By Professor Tshilidzi Marwala
China is the second-largest economy globally and publishes more scientific papers, and registers more patents than any other country in the world.
Fifteen years ago, I read a book by Donald Trump, where he talked about the direct relationship between wearing pointed shoes and having power. I had first encountered Trump in the movie Home Alone when I was a teenager, where he effectively acted as an extra – a person in a movie who plays no direct role.
Little did I know that one day he would be the US president. How the US elected a person with such unsophisticated ideas about the relationship between pointed shoes and power will be a historical controversy for years to come. It is now common knowledge that Trump has lost the presidency to Joe Biden by a wide margin. Biden won 306 electoral votes against 232 for Trump.
Furthermore, Biden won more than 80 million popular votes against 74 million for Trump. But Trump is refusing to accept defeat, and it is not apparent that he will leave the White House.
Recently, I read How to Win an Election, which was presumably written by Quintus for Marcus Cicero, a Roman statesman. In this book, we learn that elections are not about the people, but about winning.
We also learn that if it is at all possible to deceive the people to win an election, then “the end justifies the means”. Given what is going on in the US, it is clear that more than 2 000 years after Cicero’s book, the mechanics of elections have not changed and that the concept of winning elections at all costs is very much alive.
But more is at stake in this election than is apparent. This election dispute, and Trump’s failure to concede, is challenging the foundation of democracy, not just in the US but around the world.
Given the waves of political change that have engulfed the globe, it is vital to interrogate our political system and assess the state of our democracy.
We face a rising population and a shrinking economy. If we do not efficiently handle this problem, our country will increasingly become unstable, resulting in the dismantling of our nation-state’s very notion. It is now abundantly clear that the odds are becoming heavily stacked against our young republic.
As we find ourselves in the throes of uncertainty, as our battle against the coronavirus pandemic rages on and we try to salvage our economy, we are forced to introspect. Can we sustain ourselves on our current path? Is this our best possible iteration of national democracy?
The Covid-19 pandemic has humbled us, and once again, as our society teeters on the brink of what seems to be economic collapse, this is the time for our government to fulfil its obligation to the people.
As Chief Albert Luthuli once said, “I believe that here in South Africa, with all our diversities of colour and race; we will show the world a new pattern for democracy. There is a challenge for us to set a new example for all. Let us not sidestep this task.”
Have we failed to live up to this expectation, and will our democracy perish? Ultimately, the calamity of collapse is avoided through self-renewal.
Every society needs to be agile and to continuously change to survive and live up to new challenges. Therefore, it is up to us to ensure that our democracy survives by working hard and creating a new meritocratic society.
Professor Tshilidzi Marwala is the Vice - Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg.
The Star