Marxism has been Africa’s downfall

When Africa was under colonial rule and, later, apartheid in South Africa, Africans were forced to put their trust in their own.

Their own, they hoped, would deliver them from oppressive white hands. Their own, they hoped, would give them this freedom they yearned for.

Africans shunned all things white, and tried to create an Africa that had no white influence. They embraced left politics and despised imperialism and capitalism. Some expelled the white man from Africa and, at last, it would be under African rule.

But our own became the worst nightmare. Soon corruption, maladministration, nepotism, dictatorship and tribalism reared their ugly heads.

African economies collapsed, healthcare collapsed, infrastructure collapsed, incompetency ballooned, sometimes not due to the lack of skills but due to no political will to do what’s right. Africa’s embracement of Marxist ideology proved catastrophic. Socialism is great on paper and an evil in reality. It has failed dismally everywhere, history continues to prove it.

Why countries like SA want to embrace such failure is mind-boggling.

If the ANC had nationalised banks and mines and industry, believe me, all of them would be Gupta-owned today.

Every cent in this country would have been moved to Dubai, all mines would have been handed over to them.

Socialism gives absolute power to the government and our situation would have been far worse than it is now.

I feel for my country and its youth. Perhaps the love for socialism in SA stems from the fact that people feel entitled to things for free.

Marx never worked a single day in his life and depended on his friend Engels, the son of a wealthy factory owner.

No wonder he came up with a system based on entitlements rather than hard work, What a great role model!

Thandeka Khoza, e-mail