The First Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The First Amendment - Essay Example The First Amendment speaks to the very heart of what it means to be an American.In guaranteeing the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition, it ensures that each and every individual in the United States is offered some rudimentary inalienable rights With these rights comes the inescapable task of responsibility.These responsibilities were not clearly delineated in the constitution.In fact, the notion of free speech has been challenged to a great degree in that it is very esoteric in nature and when exercised to the full extent, it holds the potential of endangering lives.This paper will present an in-depth examination of the right to free speech and the notion that there should be a limit placed on such a right.First and foremost, the First Amendment refers to the rudimentary freedom of expression.At the forefront of the freedom of expression is the notion of freedom of speech.This freedom facilitates the expression of individuals without the interference or constr aint of the government—federal or state. It, however, operates under the assumption that this freedom may be limited if it proves to be detrimental to others or infringes upon the rights of others. One such case is one in which a person’s freedom to speak serves to effectively and efficiently facilitate a breach of peace or cause violence. In those cases the Supreme Court places a stringent requirement on the government wherein there must be a justification for the actions of the government to interfere or otherwise regulate those rights. Freedom of speech is not limited to verbal expression. It extends to other mediums which facilitate communication (Cornell School of Law-First Amendment, http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/First_amendment). Substantive treatments of freedom of speech in the United States tend to be Court-based, meaning they focus primarily or entirely on Supreme Court decisions. Studies such as James E. Leahy's The First Amendment. 1791-1991: Two Hundred Years of Freedom (1991), Rodney A. Smolla's Free Speech in an Open Society (1992), James Brewer Stewart's The Constitution, the Law, and Freedom of Expression, 1787-1987 (1987) and Cass R. Sunstein's Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech (1993) all exhibit a similar tendency-the tendency to frame or categorize Free Speech in terms of various "issues." and then to clarify each of those issues by relying on specific, "landmark" decisions, or a chronology of decisions, by the Supreme Court. In A Worthy Tradition: Freedom of Speech in America, for example. Harry Kalven, Jr. begins by exploring the concept of "Content"-in terms of "Heresy and Blasphemy" (Cantwell v. Connecticut, 1940: Burstyn v. Wilson, 1952: Epperson v. Arkansas, 1968: Torcaso v. Watkins , 1961) then "False Doctrine" (Kingsley Pictures v. Regents. 1959: Street v. New York. 1969): and "Taste" (Hannegan v. Esquire. 1946: Winters v. New York. 1948: Cohen v. California. 1971; Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. 1942). While limited in ways, these approaches do reveal one important thing-the inadequacy of these definitions of Free Speech. At the very least, they show that the various Courts have always been in the business of weighing Freedom of Speech against other interests and values- which is to say that the Courts have never construed Freedom of Speech as even remotely absolute. Contingencies such as location (public/private, for example), situation

Capitalism vs. Communism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Capitalism vs. Communism - Essay Example This was later followed the trade prosperity of European trade and agricultural revolution. Influential figures in capitalism included Medici of Florence, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Jacques Coeur, Marco Polo, and Anthony Giddens. Communism on the other hand can be traced back to the early Christians and religious groups, the golden age in Greece, the manorial system in the middle ages, and modern communism. The influential people in communism include Sir Thomas More of England, Gerrard Winstanley, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin, Emmanuel Kant, and Jean Jacques. Finally, the influence of the respective philosophers’ in the modern day and age is explained. Keywords: Communism, Capitalism, Christians, Trade, Agriculture Revolution, Private Property, Lending, Profits, Labor, Demand, Supply, Resources, Community, Competition, Land, Government, Economic, Philosophers What is Capitalism? It is a system that continues to be practiced in the world, despite its lack of a standard defini tion. Basically, it is a political and economical system with an ideology of the market (supply and demand) being at the core of the single system of economic governance (Scott, 2009). Individuals can own economic resources as properties from which more wealth can be generated upon investment and production. Competition for resources is spurred up by the system, creating more wealth and capital, and facilitating personal growth and development. In a broad perspective, â€Å"capitalism is organized such that produced goods and services, down to the least basic necessities of life, are produced for valuable exchange, where even human labor-power is a commodity for sale in the market, and where the market determines all economic actors † (Wood, 2002, p. 6). Capitalism thrives in the event of competition, individualism, and where a system of checks and balances exist to achieve benefits in the marketplace and retain their market share. Origin of Capitalism and Influential People in Capitalism The periods during the18th and 19th century are marked by many as the time of the emergence of capitalism. However, the previous centuries show some aspects of the conception of capitalism. During these earlier periods, the emergence and advancement capitalism can be explained through the accounts of historical developments of human activities in search for development, acts of earlier exchanges, more production, and success through wealth creation. Since capitalism is embedded on creating more wealth, the idea of usury earlier established in the middle age and as practiced by the people introduced the act of lending at interest for more profits. Although rejected by the church during the period, it in practice indicated that given the opportunity, capitalism would have thrived earlier in the period (Backend, 2010). These acts during the time can be said to be roots of capitalism. Another kind of activity that relates to capitalism due to creation of wealth was the pro sperity of Europe through trade with other continents. The 13th and 14th centuries are recorded as the successful periods of trading activities between the trading partners (Afro-Euro-Asia, Europeans, Arabians, Chinese and the Mongols), where merchants and other traders risked their resources to purchase more resources that they would later exchange for other

Bateel Marketing Analysis

Bateel Marketing Analysis I. Current Marketing Situation Company Background Now a world-class brand in the premium confectionery industry, Bateel started with a simple concept, offering a unique range of high quality products to a well-defined market segment in an upscale and elegant retail environment. The concept was also unique, offering a selection of products not available from any other source. Bateels strong appeal to consumers in various target market segments is based on our strategy and ability to consistently develop and produce the highest quality products and maintain an innovative merchandising and distribution system. Bateels success is anchored on a strong production and marketing organization, which is vertically integrated and includes farming, processing, manufacturing, and premium retailing functions. Bateel now specializes in the production and distribution of a complete range of dates, and date and non-date gourmet confectioneries. The company is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a regional office in Dubai, UAE and employs over three hundred people.[1] Company Products There are mainly four 4 product lines that are produced by the company, and they are: 1. Dates Bateel offers more than 20 varieties of high quality dates including famed Naboot Seif, Sokari, Kholas, Sekki and Khidri. Most of these date varieties are available in fresh, Rhutab and the traditional Maknooz recipe. 2. Chocolates That includes, Date Chocolates, Pralines Truffles, Bateel Wrapped Chocolates, Sugar Free, Figure Chocolates. 3. Pastries That is pastries and biscuits, Each is made with high quality Bateel dates, in addition to other ingredients, pastries are made from fresh natural ingredients and do not contain preservatives or artificial dough conditioners. All pastry items are baked by Bateel under strict, quality controlled conditions and are kept refrigerated until they are sold. 4. Other gourmet products Bateel dates and chocolates are complemented by an exclusive selection of date and non-date specialties, such as date bars, sparkling date juice drink, Turkish delight and other delicacies. These delicacies are made from the finest natural ingredients, free of preservatives, with recipes designed to satisfy the most demanding connoisseurs. Other products are: Date Jam, Sparkling Date Drink, Fruit Cake, Date Bar, Turkish Delight, Marrons Glaces, Date Dhibs, Date Dhibs Syrup, Honey, Apricot, Fig, Date Honey Fig Roll, Date Cantucci, Date Panforte, Date and Walnut Cake, Fig and Walnut Nougat, Nougat Bar, Clementine au Chocolate, Bonbons, Date Calisson, Pate de Fruit, Premium Italian Coffees Condiments, Olive Oil, Date Balsamic Vinegar and Nuts. 5. Pre-packed specialties Those are the Bateel selective product packed as gifts. Company Branches The company has many branches in different countries as follows: Africa with one branch: Sudan with one branch. Asia with eight branches: India with two branches. Indonesia with one branch. Malaysia with two branches Pakistan with three branches. Europe with total of two branches: Azerbaijan with one branch United Kingdom with one branch. Middle East with twenty two branches as follows: UAE with eight branches in Dubai and 3 branches in Abu Dhabi. Jordan with one branch Qatar with one branch Oman with one branch Bahrain with two branches Kuwait with two branches Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 4 branches. Product lines allocation as per the BCG matrix: Product lines BCG allocation analysis: Dates: Allocating Dates between Star and Cash cow is due to that Bateel is well known for dates, as they are as well high in demand comparing to other product at Bateel and due to the business is typically specialized in producing dates with different flavors and fillings, moreover, the product is not new in market and the people are already aware of it and demand it, therefore it has a high market share and growth. Chocolates: In Bateel chocolates have low market share besides that they have well known competitors in this product line who are much specialized in chocolate products therefore they tend to be in low demand at Bateel. On the other hand chocolate is considered to be a growing market as reported by [3]AC Nielsons Retail Audit estimate the UAE chocolate market at AED 546 million with a growth of 27% by value and 14% by volume MENAFN Press-08/10/2008. In addition to some companies are being keen to produce chocolate out of camel milk with high quality after a recent study the reveals that the chocolate market in the UAE is strong with 98% of respondents claiming to consume chocolate at least once a week [4]29 October 2008. Pastries: Dates Pastries at Bateel are not much known and people are not much aware of it unlike other well known non dates pastries producers, hence, they are to be in low demand at Beteel and low market share due to that they are not given enough attention by Bateel in terms of marketing and advertisement. On the other hand On average, daily consumption of dates per capita was 114.3 g, equivalent to 10 date fruits. However, it was noted that the younger population does not consume dates as much as the older population does. Nevertheless, surveys showed the significance of dates in the UAE nations diet considering the relatively high average consumption of dates per capita. Copyright  © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry[5]. And due to that reason Dates in Bateel is ranked as first product chosen by consumers furthermore that can be used as strong impulse to enhance the production of Dates pastries. Other gourmet products: Basically recently there are many specialties stores specialized in gourmet products such as [6]â€Å"Gourmet Station† that is considered to be the largest store in UAE in producing unique unlimited gourmet products unlike other small specialty stores that have limited Dates gourmet products like Bateel which in contrast can be an advantage as its considered to be healthier in ingredients. Product line chosen: Our product line chosen is Pastries, which includes Date â€Å"biscuits† and Date â€Å"cookies†. Why pastries? The reason behind selecting this product line is that dates are healthy in the first place especially for kids, low in cost, high in nutrition, available most of the years, would be preferred for parents and adults to serve it to kids instead of other type of sweets, freshly and creative baked dates pastries are always preferred particularly for banquets and weddings mainly for adults and old aged consumers though it was noted that the younger population does not consume dates as much as the older population does[7]. On the hand, there arent any competitors who are â€Å"specialized† in producing â€Å"Dates Pastries† unlike Bateel, as there isnt much who is creative and innovative in dates pastries. Moreover, it requires little investment due to the main raw material â€Å"Dates† apart from other ingredients is low in cost and available most of the year. Target Market: The target market are adults, males and females aged 18 and above, all social statuses, all nationalities and religion, residents and visitors from all over the UAE those of income AED 3000-AED 6000 annually and who are able to pay for high quality dates products, assorted and professionally and elegantly packed and arranged for purchase and sell to targeted customers for their special occasions and events. II. Macro Environmental Factors and Opportunity and Issue Analysis Macro environment comprises of a number of forces that an organization cannot control. These factors affect the efficiency of an organization, its decision making process and its performance. These are considered to be external forces such as economy (GDP per capita, inventory levels, economic growth, inflation rate, unemployment rate etc.), social cultural factors (demographic factors religion, age, income level, and attitude of consumers and cultural structures), natural factors (hurricanes, flood etc.) and competitive factor. The macro environmental factors are of grave importance to the UAE market as confectionary market adds maximum to the food exports of UAE. Since the market is considered to be among the top 10 largest markets in the world, environmental changes need to be studied so as to predict future changes in the environment as the analysis of the threats and opportunities helps the organization to be at par with the changing scenario. The main factors affecting the org anization at macro level are Economic Factors There are a number of scenarios which are observed in an economy such as prosperity, depression, recession and recovery. In an era of prosperity, the GDP of a country increases making its standard of living high pushing it on the road to success. The economy of the UAE is very strong mainly because of its oil reserves but it has over the years added to its agriculture which adds about 3 % to the GDP of the nation. It has become self sufficient in matters of food. The sweet and confectionary markets are expanding at a larger pace. The inflow of large number of tourists has also added to the economy and has supported sweet producing corporations. The governmental policies regarding emiratisation have supported local citizens in getting jobs. The higher education undertaken by young lads has added to the economy of the nation. (Economy) Social Cultural Factors Society acts as an important factor to the success of an organization. It is vital for the organizations to figure out the needs of the customers, their attitude towards the product produced by the organization. A strong ethnic behavior prevails in UAE symbolizing its tradition which does not provide freedom to the various sectors of society as might be in other European or American nations. Thus, an organization working in such a scenario needs to keep in mind the ideals of its fellow citizens as any act which discriminates or humiliates their feelings could lead to an outrage in the people. UAE has one of the largest immigration rates in the world because of the incapability of its local people to work with modern ware fares which are carried out by expatriates mainly from the subcontinents. The fast growing population does act as driving force for the industries as it adds to the strength of the man power of the region. Natural Factor A company is posed by natural forces depending on the locations it operates. Such a situation if experienced does lead to loss of life and property and loss from such a calamity is an inevitable experience. The two most common ways to react to a change in environment are reactive and proactive response. The optimization of the Marketing Mix helps in the reactive response. One of the 4 Ps i.e., places where the product is sold by an organization also called distribution channel both physical and virtual could be optimized to prevent the extent of loss. Most of the companies promote the go-green concept to attract consumers as the urge to make Dubai green had been the top priority in 2008. Since then UAE has always advocated to promote sustainable development. Competitive Factor It forms the basis of survival of an organization and fall of another in a market. An organization that understands the needs of its customers more precisely and changes in accordance to the dynamic change in the scenario overpowers and outshines in the market. The analysis of competition is an important strategic tool which helps an organization aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the other companies in its market. Since, the home confectionary market is showing a high growth rate, it attracts various companies into the market to sell their product. Thus, it becomes very important for the various companies in the field to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other companies to remain at par with them. The greater the competition, the more alternatives it provides to the customers. Thus, it becomes main priority of the companies to hold their customers by providing them special offers and something extra from others in the same business. (Chapter 3 class notes) SWOT Analysis It has four tools to strategically plan a business venture. The four tools are to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threat in any business to make it a success. Every SWOT analysis has an end result or objective such as in this case it is to help the premium confectionery industry, Bateel become global leaders. Strengths The company specializes in the production and distribution of complete range of dates and it has a high market share and growth in dates as per the BCG matrix in UAE. It produces 20 different varieties of dates which are exported to US adding to their strong market position. The presence of stores in various countries, majority of 22 in UAE adds to its distinctive growth in the confectionary market. The own a lot of farms which use extensive high quality machinery to grow and furnish dates. Such a vast capital and being the oldest of its kind creates a strong public image which is a boon for the organization. (UAE Confectionery) Weaknesses The chocolates, pastries and non date products are growing fast in market i.e., they have a fast growth rate in comparison to the date products but these products add to less that 20% of the share in the markets. The chocolates and pastries are neither much known nor are preferred. The company has large number of stores in UAE but lacks to provide the same performance when compared with the world. On exceeding the boundaries of Arab countries and some of the sub continents, no one seems to recognize the company. It has only 2 branches in Europe and none in American continent. The further growth of company will restricted if it fails to explore the rest of Europe and America. Opportunities The company can advance in the chocolate and pastries selling by increasing their market share and by using better promotional strategies. Since, Bateel strives to provide pastries with date; the pastries offer better nutritional value at reduced prices than contemporary chocolates, yet delicious adding to the benefit it provides and its good image in the markets. Company can take appropriate action according to its state in BCG matrix. The date products can be sold to all people in various ages from children to old. The date products are popular in children because of their sweetness but it needs to take into account the people above 18 yrs. The dates being the most natural of all products increase its demand and hence provide opportunity to explore. Threats The small market share of the company in the chocolate, pastries and non date products seems to threaten its position in the market. To sustain in the market, it needs to explore a way to exceed its boundaries and shell of date products. The presence of better companies in these products also does not complement its growth. Since the growth rate of pastries is higher than date products, it poses a serious concern in front of the company to take serious actions. Considering the environmental factors, pest infestation is the greatest threat to the date industries in UAE which is rising by 2 percent consistently. Such a plague could cripple the strong hold of the industry. (Date Palm Research and Development Program) References Economy (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://looklex.com/e.o/uae.economy.htm Date Palm Research and Development program (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://datepalm.uaeu.ac.ae/subpages/datepalmcultural.html Chapter 3 Class notes (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt3.html UAE Confectionery (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://gulfnews.com/mobile/business/features/uae-confectionery-is-the-icing-on-food-export-cake-1.524603 http://www.bateel.ae/about-thecompany.html http://www.bateel.ae/main.html http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093215036 http://www.thedubailife.com/home/news/news-sports/worlds-first-camel-milk-chocolate http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112597329/abstract?CRETRY=1SRETRY=0 http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545998?tmpl=printpage= http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112597329/abstract?CRETRY=1SRETRY=0

Radio Propaganda during World War II :: Essays

Radio Propaganda during World War II Propaganda played an important role before and throughout World War II. It helped accelerate the development of the war and hastened actually fighting. It also played a crucial role in individual countries in increasing production and helping the war effort. Without propaganda, it is doubtless that the war would have taken a different course. I. American radio propaganda during WWII The radio has had a huge impact on bringing information to the public about war and other government issues. Advertising and broadcasting on the airwaves was a major step in bringing war propaganda to a level where people could be easily touched nationally. Broadcasting around the clock was being offered everywhere. Before there was television people relied on the radio as a way to be entertained, the means of finding out what was going on in the world, and much more. During the World War II time period, 90 percent of American families owned a radio, and it was a part of daily life. So it was an obvious means of spreading war propaganda. During this time period, propaganda was spread throughout the radio by means of news programs, public affairs broadcasts, as well as through Hollywood and the mainstream. The average person had not even graduated high school at the time, and the average reading level of the American was somewhat low. The radio made it possible for stories and news to be delivered to everyone in plain simple English. The radio served as a medium that provided a sense of national community. Although it took time, the radio eventually rallied people together to back up the American war effort. Propaganda in the Pre-World War II time period was very unpopular with the American people. Before WWII, the American people were getting tired of propaganda efforts put on by the government. Government propaganda reminded Americans of the war propaganda tactics used in earlier in World War I and now FDR was putting tons of effort into radio propaganda to support the new deal. FDR and his administration worked hard to convince people, politicians, and the media that the government was NOT trying to censor up information about what was going on. However the government still increased the radio informational network under the cover of the emergency defense network.

Critical Response Essay

In the article â€Å"Pandemic or Panic† (2010) by Brian Molloy and the article â€Å"Hindsight is easy† (2010) by Erica Grove, they both discuss the way WHO response to the outbreak of H1N1 influenza and they present different perspectives on how the money was spent on and how the resource was distributed. Molloy is neutral about the WHO’s response of H1N1 influenza outbreak, while Molloy is highly skeptical. First, Molloy argues that WHO send everyone into a panic about H1N1, but it is not the threat people imaged it to be.Grove, however, states that it is necessary for the WHO and the government to take  the threat of H1N1 seriously. Next, Molloy claims that British government spend a lot of money on vaccine which makes two major pharmaceutical companies earn billions from swine flu, and there is a conflict of interest between the government and drug manufactures. He believes that this money should be spent on a right situation like helping disable instead of treating flu. Grove also believes that there is a mismanagement of the distribution of vaccine.Discussion: Molloy claims that the WHO and the government spends massive expenditure on doses of vaccine, while the death rate  for H1N1 is far low than for ordinary influenza. He criticizes the reports of H1N1 cases are exaggerated which send people into a panic about H1N1. By contrast, Grove states that the WHO did not overreact to the crisis. Rather, she feels grateful that the authorities took the threat of a pandemic seriously. She also points out that everything is always better to overprepare than to underprepare. Molloy appears to have overlooked that the powerful of virus can be. In fact, there are a couple of factors like infectivity, severity and lethality which can all affect the strength of a virus.Transmission is also a key factor to determine how the virus spread and be identified. As Molloy mentions that the death rate for H1N1 is relatively low than for ordinary pandemi c, it does not mean that H1N1 is a weak influenza. Perhaps the low death rate is due to early trace the source, infected people are well isolated from the rest of the community in order to control the spread of H1N1, or synthesis of a new vaccine by scientists in a short period of time. These could be one of the reasons of why the death rate for H1N1 is low. In this sense, Molloy fail to notice that.

Failure to maintain the rule of law Essay

The government’s repeated failures to bring levels of violent crime under control contributed to an environment which saw people resort to violence without fear of arrest or successful prosecution. In failing to maintain the rule of law the state had conditioned many poor communities to violent behaviour. The failure to protect communities from criminal elements and to remove those elements had allowed criminals to take full advantage of chaos and disorder to rob, rape, and loot during the violent uprisings. Incompetence in the ministry of safety and security, falling standards in the South African Police Service, corruption up to the highest levels of the police, and affirmative action had eroded the capacity of the police to provide a safe and secure environment in South Africa. This was further exacerbated by the poor performance of the prosecution service in securing convictions for offenders and the failure of the department of correctional services to rehabilitate offenders. South Africa was faced with an effective breakdown of the organs responsible for maintaining law and order. Warnings to this effect from a variety of sources had been largely ignored or treated with arrogance and contempt from the office of the minister of safety and security downwards. That not a single minister or deputy minister responsible for law and order, justice, or prisons was dismissed over close on ten years of Thabo Mbeki’s presidency suggests that the government was either unable to identify the risks presented by lawlessness or had resigned itself to the consequences. Regardless of which of the two options is correct the failure of the state to maintain law and order is the first direct contributing factor to the violence. 2.) Border control The collapse of proper border control mechanisms saw literally millions of people gaining entry to South Africa illegally. The responsibility for this law enforcement failure rests jointly with the army, police and the government who saw fit to hand many border dut ies to the police when it should have been obvious that the police were unable to handle the responsibility. The closure of the commandos is instructive in this regard as it suggests a government more interested in ideology than in pragmatism. During a period when South Africa experienced some of the highest levels of violent crime in the world the state saw fit to close down one of the key organs responsible for rural policing. Poor policy decisions and simple incompetence in border policing therefore contributed directly to the presence of a large illegal population in South Africa. Without adequate legal standing in the community these people became easy or soft targets for mob violence. The police’s own heavy handed raids on illegal immigrants further created the impression that they were fair game in South Africa. The policy response to the cross border influx revolved chiefly around a programme of arrests and deportations often without regard to the human rights and due process issues that should have applied. This policy continued long after it was apparent that it was having no effect on the number of illegal immigrants in South Africa. Again no senior political official with responsibility for this critical area of policing was dismissed for underperformance despite the obvious threat to national security. 3.) Corruption Corruption in the state sector became endemic under Thabo Mbeki and very little was done to curb it. The examples of Travelgate, Armsgate, and Oilgate served to create the impression that the South African state was corrupt up to the highest levels of government. Such corruption in turn filtered down into the various government departments at local, provincial, and national level. In the home affairs, social welfare, and law enforcement areas literally tens of thousands of officials were implicated in corrupt dealings. Anger by South Africans at immigrants with illegal documents getting access to services is therefore understandable and was brought about in large part by the failure of the police and the department of home affairs to crack down on fraudulent documents. Evidence of widespread corruption was uncovered by a host of agencies and the media. The government, however, failed to act with due diligence and most corrupt officials got away with a slap on the wrist. Even where the law took its course as in the case of Tony Yengeni the ANC saw fit to carry him into prison like a conquering hero. Confidence in the state was substantially eroded by corruption policy failures and poor judgment on the part of government. Consequently it is not surprising that communities saw the need to take their anger onto the streets. Widespread corruption undermining the role of the state is therefore a further direct contributing factor to the violence. 4.) Employment With close on 40% of South Africans failing to secure a proper job it is not surprising that scores of youths were able to conduct days and nights of violent campaigns in informal settlements around Johannesburg. Unemployment was therefore a direct contributing cause to the violence. Among young black South Africans the unemployment rate extends to over 50% in some areas. Overall only 50% of African households get their main source of income from employment. Social welfare which now reaches 25% of South Africans was never going to be sufficient to meet communities’ expectations of a better life. Warnings as to the risks of sustained levels of high unemployment were largely ignored by government. Labour legislation, hopelessly inappropriate for a largely unskilled workforce, has contributed to keep many mainly black South Africans out of jobs. Immigrants were able to secure employment as these labour policies did not apply to them and were in many cases able to make a living free from government grantsor regulation. Policy responses such as the Expanded Public Works Programme were a case of too little too late to prevent the turbulence that has gripped parts of Johannesburg for the past seven days. The government showed limited urgency in dealing with an unemployment crisis that required dramatic changes in policy to address. A host of talk shops, forums, and strategies were substituted for actual progress. It is a valid question how the government could ignore such an obvious political risk factor for so long without an adequate policy response. Partly the answer may lie in the ANC misjudging its electoral support for satisfaction with its policies. 5.) Education This has been government’s biggest failure and carries much of the blame for the high unemployment levels. It is arguable whether current state education is in its totality any better than that under apartheid. Only 1% of black matriculants achieve a good HG maths pass. The output of the school education system was therefore far from adequate to free households from state dependency or to acquire the skills necessary to find employment in a heavily regulated labour market. The education system is a good example where policy failures in one area compounded those in another. In this case poor education compounded the inappropriate labour market policy which in turn compounded the unemployment problem. Many warnings to government in this regard have been dismissed as alarmist and sensationalist. That combined with critical policy misjudgments such as the adoption of outcomes based education and the closure of teacher training colleges sabotaged any chance of rehabilitating the education system. The failure of education is therefore a further direct contributing cause to the violence. 6.) Slowing economic growth The failure to take proper advantage of a global boom in commodities meant that South Africa attracted limited benefit from the economic climate of the last five years. Empowerment policy, affirmative action, and bureaucratic interference in mining for example saw South Africa’s mining sector stutter over a period when it should have boomed. In many cases racial bean counting, self enrichment through economic empowerment, and ideological arguments for transformation trumped the need to boost economic growth rates above 4.5%. South Africa was therefore unable to use the global commodity boom to establish subsidiary industries or to invest in its industrial base. Policy failures in electricity supply and telecommunication technology in turn further hampered the economic growth rate in South Africa and further compounded the failure to adopt an industrial policy aimed at facilitating growth off the commodity boom. Education and skills shortages share some of the blame for this. In many cases ideologically driven beliefs in the state’s role in managing the economy overruled pragmatic policy responses. Agriculture is a prime example where the governments’ policy on commercial producers could best be described as hostile even as food prices begun to rise. Increasing food prices directly compromised the welfare of poor communities and must be identified as one of the key causal factors responsible for the violence. Rising inflation is a second key causal factor for the violence where a failure of the Reserve Bank’s inflation targeting policy has largely undone much of the anti-poverty impact of social grants spending. Again this is an example of one policy failure compounding failures in a host of other areas. Both food prices and inflation together with rising fuel costs directly impacted upon poor households and must have forced them to cut down on basic staples. That alone may have been sufficient to spark much of the anger visible in and around Johannesburg this week. These three factors directly undid the efforts of social grants in alleviating poverty as they undermined the value of those grants. Two of the three factors were in government’s direct policy responsibility to address. An analysis of economic policy failures would not be complete without examining the role of empowerment policy in establishing a very small and often politically connected black middle class. Government saw fit to celebrate this limited success even as the majority of black South Africans continued to live in relative squalor and poverty. In retrospect it is extraordinary that government would flaunt such limited participation in the broader economy by a select group of individuals when most of its supporters had no hope of ever becoming the beneficiary of an empowerment transaction. The now regular site of a high speed government convoys of black luxury sedans escorted by scores of police shoving through traffic points to a similarly misguided and extraordinary arrogance on the part of those who had promised a better life for all in 1994. Warnings of political risk accompanying such policy blunders where sharply disputed by government most notably in the example of Tony Trahar who was admonished by Thabo Mbeki for raising the issue of political risk in South Africa. 7.) Foreign policy Particularly in the case of Zimbabwe foreign policy was wholly inappropriate and incompetent. Thabo Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy provided a lifeline to the ailing Zimbabwe regime that kept it in power longer than would otherwise have been the case. The failure to condemn initial violence and electoral fraud in Zimbabwe contributed directly to the massive inflow of foreign immigrants. Such quiet diplomacy stands in strong contrast to the unanimous condemnation by government of the current violence in South Africa and creates the impression that violence targeted at Zimbabweans was acceptable as long as it took place in Zimbabwe. Seen in light of South Africa’s inability to secure its borders our foreign policy on Zimbabwe was destined to have only one effect – the inflow of illegal immigrants. It is far from convincing to argue that the best South Africa, as Africa’s economic superpower, could do was to quietly engage the Harare regime. Targeted economic and financial sanctions together with clear criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe were a perfectly feasible alternative policy. As in almost every area of policy failure warnings directed at government were scoffed at and dismissed. In the Zimbabwe case Thabo Mbeki’s government was quick to describe as racist any criticism of his Zimbabwe policy. Need one only remember the tumultuous reception Robert Mugabe was given at Thabo Mbeki’s inauguration? Ideology again trumped pragmatism, a failure for which South Africa is paying heavily. 8.) Service delivery While a host of government targets were met service delivery provision was far from adequate to meet expectations of a better life for all. A policy failure is again at the heart of the problem as the state took it upon itself to provide services and jobs and thereby tied households to its ability to deliver. Where delivery appeared to falter public protest was the outcome and literally thousands of protests, many of them violent, have been directed at the state over the past 36 months. In many cases the government relied on corrupt and incompetent local authorities to implement its policies. Despite much bluster and posturing not enough was done to bring these authorities into line even as a growing trend of protest actions became visible over the past 36 months. The failure of local government in delivery was never adequately addressed and communities lost faith in the willingness of government to address their queries when these were made through official channels. Communities learnt to express their dissatisfaction violently and this is set to continue as long as local authorities remain corrupt and incompetent. High unemployment was again a further contributing factor exacerbating other policy failures. The protests of the past 36 months have in the main been isolated and sporadic but should have sent a clear warning to government that dissatisfaction with delivery could spark large scale unrest. Government however continued to insist that it was on the right track and that dismissed criticism as alarmist or aimed at threatening the national democratic revolution. The government effectively miscalculated that continuing strong voter support for the ANC translated directly into support for its delivery efforts. This has proven to be a tragic misjudgment. Current legislation pending in provinces to ‘eradicate’ informal dwellings is a perfect example of a type of heavy handed delivery blunder that has characterised the government. If implemented it will no doubt aid in creating exactly the kind of havoc currently experienced around Gauteng. It is in a sense a good measure in deciding whether the government has learnt any lessons from this week’s violence. 9.) Race relations Thabo Mbeki’s efforts at re-racialising South Africa and the numerous pieces of race based policy and legislation that accompanied his time in office undid much of the progress in improving race relations accomplished under Nelson Mandela. Mbeki’s tenure re-enforced differences and assigned values based on race. It was not surprising therefore that racial conflict could be an end result of his government’s numerous policy failures. That that conflict is black on black and not black on white is unsurprising considering that levels of latent ethnic tension remain present in South Africa. Obsession with black on white racism meant that the apparently more widespread form of black on black racism was never adequately addressed. Overzealous self censorship and political correctness prevented many commentators from speaking up clearly about a possibly far more deep seated racism between black and black than existed between black and white. What can be done? Combined failures in these key policy areas have come together to create a virtual tinderbox of dissatisfaction with government delivery and the protests originating in Alexandra where merely a matter of a spark igniting the tensions at the right time in the right place. Similar political risk factors exist throughout South Africa and there exists the danger that the violence could spread further at a point in time. A second danger exists that the violence could come to take on a more ethnic nature and devolve into a renewed conflict particularly if it spreads in KwaZulu-Natal. It is a risk that South Africa will have to live with for several years as there is no quick fix solution for the current crisis. The appointment of a panel to investigate the violence is a useful academic exercise but is again a wholly inappropriate policy response to resolve the crisis. This is equally true of revitalising the failed Roll Back Xenophobia campaigns and the like which cannot adequately capture the underlying causes to the violence. The short term response should be a well thought out and coordinated law enforcement response that aims to identify and arrest anyone responsible for inciting violence or the destruction of property while isolating violent hotspots and saturating these areas with police personnel. It should be intelligence driven and managed by detectives. Tragically it is questionable, however, whether the police have the skills or equipment to conduct such an operation effectively. Employing the military in a civilian capacity risks a major disaster. They are not trained, equipped, or prepared for such a function. There is a real risk of the army shooting into a crowd with live ammunition and causing casualties that could inflame tensions even further and will almost certainly see a nationwide uprising against the state. Conclusion The violence we have experienced over the past week can be directly attributed to a series of policy failures on the part of Thabo Mbeki’s government. Warnings to that effect were too easily dismissed by government spokespeople who accused analysts of racism and ‘doom and gloom’ scenarios. A ‘worst possible scenario’ has now materialised and requires a more mature and measured response from government. Failing that we should expect that similar unrest could occur with little warning in any area of South Africa. *Frans Cronje is the Deputy CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations. This is an edited version of an article published by the SAIRR on May 20 2008