President Thabo Mbeki’s criticism of the market economy in The Guardian newspaper undermines South Africa’s credibility, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday.
DA finance spokesperson Raenette Taljaard said in a statement it was incomprehensible that Mbeki should do this on the same day that he meets with United States President George Bush.
In an article in The Guardian newspaper Mbeki said the means to ensure human survival was privately owned.
In this sense the market dictated the rules that human society set itself, he stated.
“This neoliberal-conservative economic paradigm represents the political expression of the rules of ‘the market’. Consistent with the logic of the market, it emphasises the ‘private’, as opposed to the ‘public’; the individual, as opposed to the collective; the individual versus the state,” Mbeki said.
Taljaard said the article was highly problematic.
“Government officials have insisted that trade is at the top the agenda of his meeting with President Bush. Such duplicity only undermines South Africa’s credibility in negotiations,” she said.
Taljaard accused Mbeki of distorting the “neo-liberal” approach to development.
“There is not a single ‘neo-liberal’ economist who would argue that capital must be given free rein without any government intervention.”
She said the liberal view was that government had to play a key role in regulating the market economy and providing a social safety net for the poor. It was odd that Mbeki lashed out at “neo-liberalism” when his government’s fiscal and monetary policies followed a market-oriented approach.
She said Mbeki’s problem was that he was trying to be both the champion of the poor and a responsible business leader.
“This is not an impossible task. But it requires honesty and real political courage, not distortion and doublespeak,” Taljaard said. – Sapa
Read Thabo Mbeki’s article