Youngster needs to learn political tolerance

COLIN LEGUM

Sunday Independent April 8 2001

What South Africa needs absolutely more than anything else at this delicate stage of our nascent democracy is the development of an ethic of political tolerance.

The continuing campaign of political assassination waged against our president does maximum harm to this crucial objective, just as much as a similar smear campaign would have if directed against Tony Leon.

James Myburgh's attack is not only unfair and damaging but shows a surprising lack of political knowledge and understanding. Allow me briefly to point out just three of many flaws in his piece.

First, Hannah Arendt's study of totalitarianism was inspired by the need to clarify how such systems differ from others. Therefore, the first step before applying her views to South Africa should be to show either that this country is living under a totalitarian system or that Mbeki's intentions are totalitarian.

It does not need much argument to show that we are not living in a totalitarian system, and it would require much more convincing evidence than that offered by Myburgh to show that Mbeki is guided by totalitarian ideas.

Quotations from his long-standing political enemies (like the Trotskyite Paul Trewhela) should be dismissed as valueless, especially if set against the views of others (like myself) who have known Mbeki since his student days and as a devoted lieutenant of that icon of tolerance, Oliver Tambo.

Second, Myburgh cites the tough political infighting when Mbeki defeated Cyril Ramaphosa for the leadership. He doesn't have to dig very far into political history to discover that bitter leadership challenges and intrigues are a universal phenomenon. Just read how Heath defeated Butler or, nearer home, how Botha ousted Vorster and was then forced to resign by FW de Klerk.

Third, Myburgh sees "totalitarian' tendencies in the way Mbeki surrounds himself with people he trusts. What's new about that? Most prime ministers and presidents, whether in democratic or non-democratic countries, do this. In Britain and the United States the term for this is the kitchen cabinet. This may or may not be ‘good practice' the point here is that it is not evidence of totalitarian tendencies.

I respect Myburgh as a serious and clever young man; what he lacks is wide political experience that might have saved him from misapplying Arendt's analysis to our situation in South Africa

In time, like many of us, he may come to learn the value of political tolerance.

Cape Town