The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
In almost every major religion in the world, there has been a growth of the fundamentalist wings in the past 25-30 years. This includes Christianity, Islam, Judaism and even Hinduism.
James F. Hoge Jr. contends that something is happening at a systems level and hypothesizes that religious fundamentalism is on the rise as a consequence of globalization.
Hoge is editor of Foreign Affairs, a forum for the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs.
Glenn Ashton -
The world is familiar with the ugly face of the globalisation of labour, where poor African immigrants wash up on the coasts of Spain, Italy, Malta or the Canary Islands, dehydrated and dying after harrowing ocean voyages. This is the fate of ambitious, desperate immigrants who answer the siren song of globalisation to pursue elusive wealth and a better life.
Very few of these tragic cases are covered in the western media, unless it is to decry the threat of illegal immigration. We hear of a...
The Pinky Show expounds on the transition from colonialism to globalisation and the role of the free market in this evolution. Both bring about the same results, using different methods. While colonialism was about control through force, globalisation has found an easier way to create an underclass that is easily exploited by redefining relationships and influencing how people think. Bolstering the veneer of progress and civilization - media, technology, the law and education are used to...
Saliem Fakir -
The outbreak of the new swine flu virus in Mexico has raised alarm bells and panic across the world. It is another of those incidents pointing to how precarious our world can get when it is subject to sudden knocks and risk.
Where we thought we had tamed nature, it continuously proves us wrong.
More than one risk coming at the same time multiplies the strain, shows up our vulnerabilities and stretches our ability to respond collectively.
Some would describe this as a Kafkaesque experience...
Glenn Ashton -
Agricultural practice in modern South Africa has failed to evolve sufficiently to adapt to our emerging needs. Farm workers remain marginalised, their work conditions and job security are poor. The proposed redistribution of land is slow and fraught with problems. Existing farmers feel threatened. Globalisation poses enormous challenges to the sector. However, the travails and success of our wine industry may point us toward some solutions.
South Africa's wine industry has matured since...
Fazila Farouk -
The global financial crisis has exploded onto the scene, bringing with it job losses, home losses and family murder-suicides. This crisis may be financial, but its costs are human.
The culprit, ‘capitalism’ has been named and shamed and the casino they call Wall Street, exposed. Under the disapproving gaze of the world’s ordinary people, elites appear confounded.
How did they get it so wrong? Why didn’t they see the writing on the wall? What were the predictions of...
