Democracy In Action

Mar 7, 2018

The South African parliament recently voted 241 to 83 to seize without compensation all the land owned by white farmers. Whites own about 72% of all farmland in South Africa– in some cases these farms have been in same family for 400 years.

The word “democracy” means “majority rule”. So, if you are in the majority, you can do as you please. Want to seize other people’s property without paying them for it (that’s also called “stealing”)? Just hold a vote– in a democracy you can steal other people’s stuff if you get a majority of votes.

This is exactly what Nelson Mandela was against when he became president of South Africa in the 1990’s. Yes i know that he was definitely left of center (and his African National Congress was filled with Marxists), but once he became President he really did try to bring about racial reconciliation. He was not for seizing land without compensation.

However, that is not the attitude of the South African parliament today. Marxist leader Julian Malena (who put forth the bill to steal land) said that “this is not the time for reconciliation. This is the time for justice.” Justice…Marxist style. What happens if people resist this sort of “justice”? In 2016, Cyril Ramaphosa (who was sworn in as president last month), said he was not for the extermination of the land owning farmers– “at least for now”. Small comfort from people who control the majority of the votes.