South Africa's War Against Capitalism

South Africa needs to "declare war against centralized government power" and embrace the unfettered operation of laissez-faire capitalism if it is to prosper in the post-apartheid era, according to this study by a black American economist. The author, who has boarded the bandwagon set in motion by Leon Louw of South Africa's Free Market Foundation, argues that Americans must not be taken in by the simplistic view that holds the capitalist system accountable for the injustices of apartheid. His careful but highly selective presentation of the evidence may stimulate some useful debate, but it falls short of supporting the weight of its own too sweeping conclusions. True believers may be convinced, but most readers will glean more wisdom from Merle Lipton's Capitalism and Apartheid or Stephen R. Lewis' The Economics of Apartheid.