It’s Time To Decriminalise Freedom in South Africa
South Africa needs a paradigm shift in how we view the role of the state, and more importantly how we view the importance of the individual and their freedom.
Written by: Chris Hattingh
South Africa needs a paradigm shift in how we view the role of the state, and more importantly how we view the importance of the individual and their freedom. Freedom brings with it individual agency and responsibility. People will often make decisions with which we disagree, and we have to make peace with that possibility. If we are serious about realising the kind of radical economic growth many want, we need to realise that such growth can only come about when there are as few barriers on human life and economic activity as possible.
Nowadays when you use the word ‘freedom’, people immediately think of the government-imposed lockdowns implemented to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While I am strongly opposed to the hard, nationwide lockdown that has been implemented, it is not my focus in this particular piece. I will say that the lockdown (and the way in which it has been implemented by the government) is indicative of the extent to which people have been infantilised by the state, and indeed the large extent to which many have accepted the ever-growing role of the state in our lives.
The focus here is on the myriad regulations and restrictions that destroyed a lot of wealth in South Africa before COVID-19, that made it exceedingly difficult to create wealth before the lockdown, and that resulted in countless small businesses and entrepreneurs being in the perilous position they occupy at the moment.
The freedom to trade with whoever you like. The freedom to build any business you like, to hire (or not) whoever you need. The freedom to work for whatever wage or experience you deem best. The freedom to keep most of the wealth you create. The freedom to invest in your life, to create as much wealth for yourself as you can manage. These are the kinds of examples I have in mind, of the kind of freedom South Africa needs after the lockdown. Reverting back to the ideas and policies of the pre-COVID-19 era will only ensure that grinding poverty becomes more and more widespread. A radical step – adopting freedom as a true ideal – is what’s needed for South Africa heading out of the pandemic.
Another aspect of the state’s paternalistic inclinations is how it dictates how much (or how little) of some things we may consume, and indeed that we may not consume some things at all. The state has assumed the role of telling people what they may, or may not, put in their bodies. A huge reason for this is because the state has assumed that its proper role is to provide healthcare for everyone. The healthier it can force people to be, the lighter the burden on the state.
Chris Hattingh is Executive Director at the Centre For Risk Analysis (CRA). With a special focus on trade, investment, and economic matters.