Mandela was unquestionably a great man. But he was great because he was
once a fierce fighter against oppression, not because he was a saint
with a nice line in inspirational aphorisms. He was also a flawed human
being whose party, under his leadership, capitulated to capitalism,
embraced neoliberalism and perpetuated drastic economic inequality.
Let's mourn the passing of a fighter against racial discrimination, who
endured decades of suffering (on a level that I can't even
conceptualise, let alone imagine myself tolerating) for his principles.
But let's not lose ourselves in lachrymose sentimentality and forget
the real history of post-Apartheid South Africa.
Pilger: http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/07/nelson-mandelas-greatness-may-be-assured-not-his-legacy
Klein: http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2011/02/democracy-born-chains
Well said.
ReplyDeleteAs if we needed another reason to oppose this latest iteration of the Great Men of History argument, check out the letter to the Guardian below from one Simon Plosker of 'Honest Reporting'. The reason the occupation of Palestine continues, it seems, is because Mandela was engaged elsewhere...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/15/mandela-place-world-dissenting-voices