LeonS I think that as a party you will need to formulate a response to the notion of redress in SA. Principles are grand but we don't start the race of life at the same place (yes a little of bit of Rawls etc.) and this is central to our future as a nation<
This quote captures the very essence of our South African problem. Why, because it assumes a starting point for each of us that is different, but this difference is only conceptual, the objective, rather than the conceptual, reality is that anybody who is alive was born and because they are human they are also conscious. our consciousness means that we are aware of our circumstances and can choose how we respond to them. There are basically only two choices that we can make to our circumstances, victor or victim.
The most life affirming choice is to say these are my circumstances I am responsible for developing strategies to deal with them and doing just that. This is the victor's choice and the shining example of a South African who made this victor's choice is Nelson Mandela .
The most life destroying choice is to say that I am a victim. If I'm a victim then I'm not responsible, for anything, the responsibility lies elsewhere in some other thing, person or institution or life itself, so what's the use, I can do nothing about anything.
Deciding that one is a victim is a common human failing. Apartheid, unfortunately for us, has given us an ideal reason for accepting victimhood as an unquestionable reality. Victimhood is accepted as real even by those who do not see themselves as victims and of course it is accepted as real by those who most definitely see themselves as victims of Apartheid.
A nation the majority of whom believe in victimhood as an objective reality can go nowhere but down the drain, which is exactly what we seem to be doing right now.
That Apartheid did real damage to individuals is a fact but the damage done is particular to each individual and remedial action tailored to individuals is where remedial action will be most effective rather than with blanket legislation like AA, BBEEE and EWC all justified because victimhood is accepted as something real when it is a matter of choice not fact.
Solutions must relate to objective reality otherwise they are more likely to cause more harm rather than good.