Despotic Dystopias: Lessons From Venezuela and Iran
David Ansara writes on how statism and authoritarianism in Venezuela and Iran destroyed prosperity and freedom, leaving citizens impoverished and oppressed.
Columns
January 16, 2026
6 min read
Iran's Unrest: Real Grievances Amid a Rigid System and External Shadows
Hügo Krüger says while the protests in Iran reflect real grievances, a rigid political system, weak opposition, and external pressure leave little room for change.
Columns
January 16, 2026
9 min read
The Last (Or First?) Temptation of Starmer
Simon Lincoln Reader writes on the UK’s decline, and how the Establishment is now looking to ban X, which could unlock something that can’t be controlled.
Columns
January 16, 2026
8 min read
There is No Supreme International Law
Koos Malan writes on how recent global events show that power, not principle, determines international conduct, revealing the limits of the so-called rules-based order.
Columns
January 15, 2026
8 min read
Standing With Maduro, Tripping Over Reality
From a half-empty Rustenburg stadium to Caracas’s prisons, the ANC’s moral contradictions are laid bare.
Columns
January 13, 2026
9 min read
The Common Sense’s Diary
Trump liberates the world from high energy prices; SA doubles down on hating Trump; hear Lutnick; Chinese ports point to vast African economic upsides: the DA could throw its gains away: Fikile Mbalula does a wild thing.
Columns
January 13, 2026
7 min read
26 Things to Watch in 2026
David Ansara writes on the 26 trends to keep an eye on in 2026.
Columns
January 12, 2026
11 min read
Rachel Reeves: The Worst Finance Minister in the World?
Simon Lincoln Reader writes on the crisis of credibility in the UK’s government finances.
Columns
January 11, 2026
6 min read
The Land Issue – Yet Again
RW Johnson writes on Paul Mashatile’s latest comments on expropriation and how these ignore the economic failures and realities of land reform.
Columns
January 11, 2026
9 min read
Singing Cats and the Future of South Africa–Israel Relations
Benji Shulman writes on the Kirstenbosch concert saga around The Kiffness, and how his singing-cat fame became a small but telling test of South Africa–Israel politics.
Columns
January 10, 2026
8 min read
