"Journalism can never stand between a failed state and hope in South Africa if journalists do not understand the solutions to the economic and political problems that we are experiencing in the country today," says Fanie Brink, an independent agricultural economist.
He referred to the article by Professor Lizette Rabe, chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Stellenbosch, "Joernalistiek staan tussen mislukte staat en hoop" which appeared on the website of Netwerk24 yesterday.
If journalists today want to stand between a "failed state and hope" in SA, they will have to understand two aspects very well, firstly, the utmost importance of an economic system that can create economic growth and can offer solutions to the very serious fiscal and social problems in the country.
Most journalists today do not understand how economic growth is created that can solve both of these problems, but rather still mistakenly believe that the ANC government's socialist ideology is the solution, while it has already irreversibly destroyed the economy.
Secondly, journalists will also need to understand and realise that history throughout the centuries has proven very clearly that the economically illiterate and incompetent politicians in the past were the greatest destroyers of the economies of many countries.
The dictator and communist, Vladimir Lenin, and his successor, Joseph Stalin, totally destroyed Russia's economy with their purely Marxist policies; Germany's Adolf Hitler, with his policy of world domination, destroyed the economies of most European countries that triggered World War II; the Japanese leaders made the most wrong political policy decision of their lives when they became involved in World War II by attacking the US Navy in Pearl Harbour for which they paid the most expensive price possible.
Many dictators in Africa like Idi Amin in Uganda, Samora Machel in Mozambique, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe have done the same with their socialist, communist and corruption policies. Hendrik Verwoerd with his policy of separate development and Jacob Zuma with his socialism, total corruption and state capture forced the economy in South Africa to its knees, which unfortunately is still very clearly continued today by Cyril Ramaphosa! It still goes on today because that for almost all politicians it is just about the outcome of the next election without considering the possible devastating consequences for the economy.
South Africa is in the process of losing its financial sovereignty as well as its status as a developing country and will be downgraded in the near future to an underdeveloped country with no economic growth, much greater fiscal, social problems, human suffering and misery just like in most other African countries. It will ultimately be responsible for the fact that about 85% of the population will eventually become totally dependent on the agricultural industry after all the other industries on the supply side as well as the private consumption spending, capital formation and exports on the demand side of the economy have completely collapsed.
The government and the economy need money to function optimally that can only come from the private sector from profits they make and the compensation they pay to their employees which are the biggest sources of government revenue. Personal income tax amounts to 37,6%, company tax 17,3% and tax on goods and services 38,5%, a total of 93,4% of the total revenue of the government which is a clear indication of how important it is that economic growth must be created by the supply and demand side of the economy which is driven by the profit motive to solve the serious fiscal and social problems!
"Exactly this is what 'stands between a failed state and hope!'"
The government, therefore, needs to create a political and economic environment that will be conducive for the private sector to generate more profits which is the only way to create economic growth. Nowhere in the world is there any other way of creating economic growth today.
If journalists do not understand and realise this, they will never be able to stand between a "failed state and hope" and then most people in the country will remain uninformed about the true realities and facts of the political and economic environment in the country in which they live!
Most countries in the world today have mixed capitalist/socialist economic systems* precisely for solving fiscal and social problems, but the ANC government with its alliance and social partners will just never understand it.
Worst of all, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund continue to support the destructive socialist ideology of the ANC government, despite the fact that the USA has been the bastion of capitalism in the world for decades and must be regarded as an economic sell-out of South-Africa!!
"The question that should rather be asked is where was the media when South Africa fell into a failed state with a bankrupt and corrupt government with unprecedented and growing fiscal and social problems that could lead to anarchy and loss of human lives," according to Brink.
Fanie Brink, Independent Agricultural Economist
*Countries with mixed economies
https://www.google.com/search?q=countries+with+mixed+economies&rlz=1C1EXJR_enZA875ZA875&oq=coutires+with+mixed+economies&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i13j0i22i30.122ourcej0j&
