OPINION

"Mzansi’s economy is in big kak" - Sunday Sun

Robert Mazambane says it’s time we get rid of our love for communism

Communism is set to ruin world economies

I’M not the sort of guy who reads the business section of newspapers. When I’m driving and the money shows are on the radio, I usually try to find something more interesting to listen to. I don’t understand half of what they’re saying.

It’s always CPIX this and EPS that and bulls and bears and who knows what else.

What does it all mean? I’m sure if I put my mind to it, I’d be able to figure it out. But if all if these economists, who use these fancy terms, weren’t able to see the big crisis of 2008 coming, I don’t think it’s worth my time.

When it comes to money matters, I try to stick to the common sense principles my dad taught me: Don’t buy anything on credit, and always put some money aside for a rainy day. I say that I try, because doing so is not easy. It’s a good idea to try and not get into debt, but how many of us would be able to buy food and clothes and look after our kids if we didn’t?

You may wonder why this is on my mind, so I’ll tell you. Even though I skip the business pages, I’ve been reading a lot of articles everywhere lately about how Mzansi’s economy is in big kak, and how it’s only going to get worse in the coming months and years.

Most experts seem to blame the influence of communism on the government’s economic policies. Ever since the SACP and Cosatu got a bigger say in how the economy is run after the Polokwane conference, this argument goes, we have been on a steady road to financial ruin. It’s hard to argue with this, because facts and figures speak for themselves.

But the thing is, you don’t even have to look at the numbers in South Africa to know that communism is going to completely mess up your economy. And you don’t need to understand any fancy economist slang to know that either.

Just take a look at what has happened to every country in the world that adopted communist policies. Their economies were completely destroyed. It took longer in some places than in others, but total economic ruin is always the result.

But what about the fate of ordinary workers, the people communism claims to help the most? Well, as you might imagine, ordinary citizens can expect to have an awful life in a country where the economy has gone down the drain. Workers in communist countries usually end up with awful working and living conditions.

Shops no longer sell the things you need to have a comfortable life, except of course to the leaders, who somehow always manage to stay rich as the rest of the citizens turn into beggars. Your suffering may be cut short, though, when you die from the starvation that also often is the result of a communist-led economy.

I know that many of us have a soft spot for communism and its fans, thanks to the role they played in the fight against apartheid. But we can’t afford to continue to be blind to this ideology’s shortcomings and the terrible things it ultimately leads to.

APARTHEID was based on the European philosophy of white supremacism and racial segregation, and its goal was the oppression of African people. Communism is another European philosophy, and while it may claim to have the best interests of African workers at heart, the truth is that it is far more destructive than apartheid ever was or could be.

As I mentioned in these very pages a little while ago, apartheid killed several thousand people. Communism has killed 100 million, almost all of them not some rich capitalists, but the ordinary, poor people it claims to want to help.

We managed to defeat apartheid. Now it’s time we get rid of our love for communism, before it leads us to a future that will make apartheid look like paradise.

What do you think?

Send a mail to [email protected]

Until next week, salani kahle!