Evolutionary pressure is stimulated by great events. Cataclysms, in particular, let the strongest shine. South Africa has, for centuries, been the social equivalent of a violent tidal coastline filled with danger and […]
Gavin Chait
Economist, data scientist, entrepreneur, author. Fascinated by the frontiers of human progress: innovation vs ignorance; wealth vs poverty. Oh, and coffee. @GavinChait and https://gavinchait.com
Say it softly, the Middle East is a wee bit unstable …
The two Palestinian enclaves of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are now two separate countries. Hamas, in what appears to have been a long-planned attack, surprised Fatah in the Gaza Strip […]
“For God’s sake, please stop the aid!”
Maybe it’ll help if a black economist from Kenya says it instead of a white economist from South Africa. De Spiegel interviewed James Shikwati. SPIEGEL: Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles […]
Suburbanise! How Aid and Trade obliterate unique cultures
Poverty will end. Despite all the screaming, all the noise, all the stone throwing. Despite “Make Poverty History” and billions of Dollars in aid and opposition to capitalism. Poverty will end. The […]
Two Frontiers: wars of liberation and of determination
Never has the chasm between the expectations and concerns of the rich and those of the poor been greater. The youngsters lighting fires in Germany at the G8 Summit to protest about […]
What comes after Capitalism?
The panel debated long and loud. Much argument both for and against. Civil society groups protested outside, each outdoing the next in plaintive cries and outlandish dress. Eventually the chairman spoke: “Ladies […]
WAN 2007, Day 2: The Cartoonist, the Darkest Continent, and The Zuma – a man who would be king
“Why are you suing a cartoonist and what do you hope to achieve?” asked George Brock, president of the World Editor’s Forum, of Jacob Zuma, ex-Deputy President of South Africa and currently […]
The Golden Pen, Yahoo, and the worst country in the world to be a journalist
Timothy Balding, CEO of the World Association of Newspapers, is no softy. Neither are any of the other 1 600 journalists and news editors from around the world gathered in Cape Town […]
The efficiency of markets and how protectionism leaves the poor behind
There is something magnificent about the way that modern, market-driven businesses get ever more efficient. How they are able to derive ever more from ever less. Agriculture used to be a matter […]
Hubris: something both Democrats and Republicans have in common
The image to the right is a Japanese representation of the “black ships” commanded by Matthew Perry which, in 1853, forced open trade with Japan for US commercial interests. A few may […]
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 