Is equality possible or delusional?: Chuck Stephens
Plato admired yet questioned democracy, viewing it as anarchic but equalizing. Chuck Stephens discusses that over time, debates around equality have shifted: the right favours opportunity, while the left seeks outcomes. Stephens argues that South Africa, grappling with inequality, must prioritize opportunity over entitlement. He says that affirmative action risks economic growth. An "Africa first" approach could spur self-reliance and progress, Stephens concludes.
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By Chuck Stephens*
The philosopher Plato said that Democracy was "an attractively anarchic and colourful regime, it seems, one that accords a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike." Through his mother Perictione, Plato was a descendant of Solon's brother Dropides, so the father of Democracy was his "uncle". Solon – the just judge who became a lawgiver and invented Democracy in a city where inequality was rampant. You can tell that as a thought-leader Plato admired Democracy while remaining somewhat skeptical.
Fast-forward two millennia and Parliaments were emerging to try to make Democracy function better. The terms "right" and "left" derive from the side of the Speaker that parliamentarians sat on.
On the right, some people understand this term to mean equality of opportunity. All people should have access to the means of production. But they are comfortable with variable outcomes. Some get rich, others don't. Some succeed, others fail. We can't all be Elon Musk.
On the left, there is a different understanding. It has to do with equality of outcomes. From each according to their ability and to each according to their need. Socialists try to level the playing field. The rich are taxed, the poor receive social benefits.
South Africa has been free and democratic for thirty years, but Equality is still elusive. The Gini Coefficient measures inequality and its reading suggests that equality of outcomes has not arrived yet. However, affirmative action does give priority to the historically disadvantaged, so at least equality of opportunity is rising.
When Democracy was launched in the USA, there was a lot of skepticism in England and France. England had tried a Republic under Cromwell and couldn't get the monarchy back fast enough. The French Revolution toppled its monarchy but before long an emperor called Napoleon emerged. But fifty years after Democracy was planted in the USA, it was growing fast. A French influencer called Alexis de Tocqueville visited the USA and recorded his observations and conclusions. One comment he made is even more enigmatic than Plato's: "Americans are so enamored of equality, they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom."
The meaning of Equality has surged in recent years. Women have strived for equality with men. In both the USA and South Africa, blacks have secured civil rights after emerging from slavery and apartheid. Now the African Union is aspiring to a new world order that is called a "Just Transition". It wants Africa to be an equal on the world stage. The theme sounds familiar: "Africa first".
South Africa finds itself at a major crossroads. The Cold War ended after Ronald Reagan met Maggie Thatcher in Iceland and mapped out a uni-polar world (in 1986). This brought about the winds of change in South Africa, with the unbanning of the ANC, the election of Nelson Mandela and the "new" South Africa.
The election of Donald Trump last month is probably is big a turning point in history as the tearing down of the Berlin Wall (in 1989). South Africa is hosting the G20 conference in 2025, but it is also a founding member of BRICS. It has apparently taken sides with Russia and it has tried to trigger a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine. It cannot have it both ways.
Trump is the champion of the Abraham Accords, with a vision for peace and prosperity in the Middle East. Israel has shaken the region so hard that the Assad regime has been toppled in Syria. This does not bode well for Iran. Its proxies are shrinking to the point that the only ones left intact – the Houthis – are unusually quiet.
Trump is more like Julius Caesar or Napoleon, an iconic figure who is larger than life. JC brought us a thousand years of imperial Rome. Napoleon as an individual was hugely influential – for example the legal system called the Napoleonic Code challenged the "case law" approach of the UK. The influence of figures like Trump will reverberate for a very long time.
What does this have to do with Equality? Well what is coming is a reset. Equality of opportunity will remain as the goal, but equality of outcomes – as expressed in the language of "rights" – will wane. Speaking of the Abraham Accords in this language – Trump wants equality of opportunity to prevail in the Middle East, for the sake of business and trade. But he will not listen to the voices of equality of outcomes, which sound like "entitlement" to him.
The invasion of the USA by illegal immigrants can be read as foreigners seeking equality of opportunity. But Trump sees it as foreigners demanding equality of outcomes – grabbing benefits from the public purse and stealing a citizenship. Julius Caesar showed that law and order leads to economic boom. Democracy that has been corrupted is not the pathway, it just causes havoc. Trump reads the invasion of illegal immigrants as driven by a sense of entitlement – not a sense of opportunity.
South Africa needs to reassess its Democracy. Is affirmative action in favour of the majority helping or hindering economic growth?
Why do we drive imported vehicles from Japan, Korea, India, Germany, France and America? Simply because Africa has always been seen as a source of raw materials. The processing and manufacturing – and the jobs that go with that – are for the North. Amazingly, we then have to import oil from the Middle East to fuel these imported cars. Why does launching a "Safricar" sound radical? It's not. It would be a huge boost for youth unemployment. It would cut down emissions. It would reduce imports of crude oil, especially if Safricars can run on home-grown biofuel.
We should stop winjing about foreign domination and grow a pair. But South Africans have become so dependent on government hand-outs that they don't want a hand up. There are something like 9 million people in the work force, paying tax to support 15 million others on government assistance. We need to tone down the dependency syndrome by talking more about equality of opportunity, and less about equality of outcomes. Affirmative action is weakening the economy, not strengthening it. All citizens of all races, genders and religions should have equal access to the means of production. The socialist spin on this is counter-intuitive.
Democracy has served the USA well. Its economy is booming. Instead of a preference to being "equal in slavery than unequal in freedom" we have progressed from apartheid's inequality to trying to be equal in freedom. If we want jobs, growth and an economic boom, we need "Africa first" to mean emphasizing equality of opportunity. That is what will trigger a Just Transition. As long as we cling to entitlement we will be locked in the dependency syndrome. Where our oppressors want us to be. Our own mentality is keeping us down. Africa needs to boot itself up by its own bootstraps.
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*Chuck Stephens: Desmond Tutu Centre for Leadership