Living in a multi-cultural nation, such as South Africa, comes with many challenges. What one culture may perceive as “right” and “normal” may be a completely different story for another culture. Take my experience of living in Germany, for example. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE everything about Germany, but there were many- times when culture clashes occurred. I just couldn’t understand how the way I did things was unacceptable to the way the Germans did things. However, this wasn’t a negative experience for me at all – but rather one which made me more accepting and understanding of other people. I had to learn that there was a “standard” way of doing things in a country scrupulous about following rules and if I didn’t abide by the rules (such as cycling on the wrong side of the road – accidentally might I add!), then there would be consequences. Simple as that. I couldn’t use the excuse that I was South African and that in South African culture, no one really cares if you cycle on the wrong side of the road or not. In the following opinion piece, Charl Botha thoughtfully discuses the convoluted concept of culture and why he thinks it cannot be used as an excuse for lawlessness. – Tracey Ruff
By Charl Botha*
We have a problem in our beloved nation. More specifically, we have a number of problems, but one problem is enough for this particular article. An implicit assumption of “no constructive criticism” is rearing its head. This state of affairs is creating a tension that may lead to a break with dire consequences for our rainbow nation.
If we cannot implore and expect our fellow South Africans to abide by at least a minimum moral standard, such as not taking what’s not yours (read money for a particular KZN housing project), then I am afraid that the basic fabric of a so-called South African society is being rent with question marks concerning its future sustainability. If a multi-cultural society such as ours cannot agree on at least some basic culturally independent values, what would stop the eventual disintegration of said society by those whose only values seem to be they themselves and the power that they hold dear?
It is true that we have a world-class constitution, a very fine letter of sorts, carrying the specific content of the values we supposedly prize. The only problem is that the spirit in which our leaders are operating at present is beginning to make a mockery of this fine letter that we have crafted. Where are the leaders who do what is right because it is right, instead of those who spend a seemingly considerable amount of time trying to not get caught (or in our case not even appearing for an argument as to why they should not be “caught”)?
I will try to show that an excuse for acting in one way rather than another, as for example taking money that does not belong to you (stealing or bribery), can never be justified on cultural grounds. I define culture broadly as the shared practices and beliefs of a group of people over time. The sufficiency of this definition is not essential to this argument but rather the claim that cultural lines are at least differentiated based on specific beliefs held and practices acted upon. In other words, one culture is different, to a degree at least, because its members have different beliefs and different practices. For example, some cultures eat humans, while others eat potatoes. Some view men as more important than women, and some do not.
The inherent assumption in our multi-cultural nation is that “culture” is sacrosanct and not open to constructive criticism, especially from someone who is not a member of that particular culture. Is it not the case that we have often seen those who “criticize” some action by a member of another culture having the epithet “racist” attached to him or herself? I am not arguing that racial slurs do not occur, they tragically continue to disgrace our society on many levels. What I am saying is that “valid” cultural criticism should not be evaded by the red herring tactic of placing a racial tag on those who raise such criticisms.
Why is “culture” not inherently sacrosanct, but open for positive revision if necessary? Because if culture necessarily consists in beliefs and practices then arguably these beliefs and practices may sometimes be wrong! If we want to live in a functional multicultural society such as South Africa, we need to respect the practice of respectfully questioning the legitimacy of the beliefs and practices that inform our various constitutive cultural groups. The first culturally invariant value that I propose is that practices reasonably construed as corrupt (by suitable institutions informed by the constitution) should result in responsibility been taken by any who fall foul of such practices no matter their station or cultural heritage.
*Charl Botha is the Portfolio Manager of an investment partnership. He has passed levels 1,2 and 3 of his CFA qualification and is currently completing his MA in philosophy. Read more on who Charl is below:
I love fast cars. I love road trips. I love “hanging” with friends and family. I am also extremely inquisitive. That little annoying kid always asking “why?”, that was me. There was never a time when I did not read my chappie wrappers to find out if I knew the answer to some random fact. Selective industriousness, also known as laziness, coupled with my love for learning led me to the one place in the world of commerce where you can make a living without been feverishly busy – investing. So here I am, a philosopher in the world of investing, and I’m loving it.
