Raising the bar
Subtitle: hope and renewal in South Africa
By: Songezo Zibi
Publisher: Picador Africa
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Johannesburg
Language: eng
Number of pages: 289
ISBN-13: 9781770103689; 9781770103696
Subjects: Politics and government; Political leadership; Democracy; Social conditions; Post-apartheid era; Social change
Description: South Africa faces enormous challenges brought about by the legacy of its horrible past and the actions of its present. In the twenty years since the advent of democracy the country has come to believe that the ailments of its soul will be solved by state bureaucratic interventions. While at a material level this may be true, at the core of its failure to confront its demons successfully is a missing moral and philosophical foundation to the future it wants to build. Desperate to build a new, positive and uplifting narrative of itself, South Africa has failed at the task of constructing a society and instead sought to maintain a fragile truce between bitterly competing interests. Raising the Bar provides a fresh, unencumbered analysis of the topics that pervade our daily lives, including race, leadership, politics, government, violence, the position of women and the taboos that haunt us. It explores why we are the people we have become and the future our present state is building. Uncomfortable and littered with vulnerabilities and problems, this is a task we can no longer delay. It is the only way to lay a solid foundation to ensure that we become a prosperous nation.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foundation; title: Race and the social contract; title: A bright future is possible; title: Leadership; title: Politics; title: Government; title: Violence; title: Women and their prospects; title: Confronting taboo topics.