I have seen a lot traumatizing events being entertained in the media, social network, newspapers etc. I always ask myself one thing: how long will it be until we return back to the spirit of Ubuntu? If you turn on the news or read newspapers; we hear and read about young girls who are missing and we all know that somehow their going to be used for generating profit through human trafficking. On the other hand people are regarded and treated as customers sometimes products through out the world and nobody is saying anything. If people are now treated as a commodity [products that could be sold or exchange for income] everyday, therefore one may ask; where is the spirit of Ubuntu?
It all could be traced back to what Karl Marx, a famous Theorist known as the father of sociology and the movement known as Marxism once contends. Marx came up with the concept of alienation [the experience of isolation resulting from powerlessness] in order to explain the causation of isolation in the world. He blamed the system of capitalism [the process of accumulation of capital or wealth] which has tends to focus on production and structure with paradigms which are profit oriented. In such system workers are being used as a tool for generating profit. Human beings are being replaced by machines. Machines are now regarded as way better than human beings. The question remains; where is the spirit of Ubuntu?
It is really shockingly shocking that when someone needs help people start by taking pictures, videos first for their Facebook, YouTube, news etc before they call an ambulance. Is this who we really are or what we have turned to be? Completely senseless!!! What happen to putting human beings first before things we created in this world? Where is the spirit of Ubuntu?
We elect people into government in order to represent our needs but this are the same people who use to stand with us on the queue to fetch water ironically are the one`s who misuse the public funds for their own benefits. They drive nice and comfortable German cars, sleeping on the five stars hotel while there people back on the rural areas who are still pushing the same wheelbarrow to fetch water couple of blocks away from their crib`s. The question still prevails; where is the spirit of Ubuntu?
When are we going to start putting people first? When are we going to start putting ourselves in other people`s shoes before we even judge them? When are we going to stop using people as tools for our own benefits? When are we going to stop comparing people to things? When are we going to start using money instead of using people? Where is the Spirit of Ubuntu?
Our spirit of Ubuntu has diminished with the introduction of a cruel, inhumane, selfless, pathetic and rotten system of Capitalism.
ReplyDeleteA man, nowadays, is a man for himself.
Gone are the days whereby we as Africa, strongly believed in the spirit of Communism, and helping each other out in times of need.
All of this, I argue, came with the Western system of Capitalism. I hate Capitalism for what it stands for. I am not saying that Individualism, which is what it advocates for is wrong, but what I am against is its operations in the markets.
It constitutes, and continuously, to the essential challenges we are trying to overcome in our South Africa, namely, a challenge of socio-economic equality. See for instance the case of RSA Government v Grootboom; Lindiwe Mazibuko v City of JHB; and further see other court cases on socio-economic rights.
I argue that for as long as there are traces of this cruel system in our (developing) country, our socio-economic challenges will, in spite of progressive governmental social policy, never be addressed.
If i had a power to, or rather, the authority to, I would change our economic system in RSA. We need, logic dictates, to go back to the basics.
The basics is, amongst other things, the notion of Ubuntu which can, but, not be seperated to a system of Communism.
Steve Biko must be frowning at our political and economic leaders.
@Vuyo enough said..the question is, what are we doing about it? I think it is about time graduates take their position...
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