(...) Two key facts remain obliterated by
this celebratory vision. In South Africa, the miserable life
of the poor majority broadly remains the same as under apartheid,
and the rise of political and civil rights is counterbalanced by the growing
insecurity, violence and crime. The main change is that the old white ruling
class is joined by the new black elite. Second, people remember the old African
National Congress that promised not only the end of apartheid, but also more
social justice, even a kind of socialism. This much more radical ANC past is
gradually obliterated from our memory. No wonder that anger is growing among
poor, black South Africans (...)
If we want to remain faithful to Mandela's
legacy, we should thus forget about celebratory crocodile tears and focus on
the unfulfilled promises his leadership gave rise to. We can safely surmise
that, on account of his doubtless moral and political greatness, he was at the
end of his life also a bitter old man, well aware how his very political
triumph and his elevation into a universal hero was the mask of a bitter
defeat. His universal glory is also a sign that he really didn't disturb the
global order of power.
