Nelson mondela

Nelson Mandela: A giant passes | The Economist

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Baobab
Africa

Nelson Mandela

A giant passes
Dec 5th 2013, 22:22 by The Economist
The greatness of Nelson Mandela
challenges us all
AMONG Nelson Mandela’s many
achievements, two stand out. First, he was the
world’s most inspiring example of fortitude,
magnanimity and dignity in the face of
oppression, serving more than 27 years in
prison for his belief that all men and women are created equal. During the brutal years of his
imprisonment on Robben Island, thanks to his own patience, humour and capacity for
forgiveness, he seemed freer behind bars than the men who kept him there, locked up as they
were in their own self-demeaning prejudices. Indeed, his warders were among those who
came to admire him most.
Second, and little short of miraculous, was the way in which he engineered and oversaw
South Africa’s transformation from a byword for nastiness and narrowness into, at least in
intent, a rainbow nation in which people, no matter what their colour, were entitled to be
treated with respect. That the country has not always lived up to his standards goes to show
how high they were.
Exorcising the curse of colour
As a politician, and as a man, Mr Mandela had his contradictions (see article
(http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2013/12/nelson-mandela) ). He was neither a
genius nor, as he often said himself, a saint. Some of his early writings were banal Marxist
ramblings, even if the sense of anger with which they were infused was justifiable. But his

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charisma was evident from his youth. He was a born leader who feared nobody, debased
himself before no one and never lost his sense of humour. He was handsome and
comfortable in his own skin. In a country in which the myth of racial superiority was
enshrined in law, he never for a moment doubted his right, and that of all his compatriots, to
equal treatment. Perhaps no less remarkably, once the majority of citizens were able to have
their say he never for a moment denied the right of his white compatriots to equality. For all
the humiliation he suffered at the hands of white racists before he was released in 1990, he
was never animated by feelings of revenge. He was himself utterly without prejudice, which
is why he became a symbol of tolerance and justice across the globe.
Perhaps even more important for the future of his country was his ability to think deeply,
and to change his mind. When he was set free, many of his fellow members of the African
National Congress (ANC) remained dedicated disciples of the dogma promoted by their
party’s supporter, the Soviet Union, whose own sudden implosion helped shift the global
balance of power that in turn contributed to apartheid’s demise. Many of his comrades were
simultaneously members of the ANC and the South African Communist Party who hoped to
dismember the capitalist economy and bring its treasure trove of mines and factories into
public ownership. Nor was the ANC convinced that a Westminster-style parliamentary
democracy—with all the checks and balances of bourgeois institutions, such as an
independent judiciary—was worth preserving, perverted as it had been under apartheid.
Mr Mandela had himself harboured such doubts. But immediately before and after his
release from prison, he sought out a variety of opinions among those who, unlike himself,
had been fortunate enough to roam the world and compare competing systems. He listened
and pondered—and decided that it would be better for all his people, especially the poor
black majority, if South Africa’s existing economic model were drastically altered but not
destroyed, and if a liberal democracy, under a universal franchise, were kept too.
That South Africa did, in the end, move with relatively little bloodshed to become a
multiracial free-market democracy was indeed a near-miracle for which the whole world
must thank him. The country he leaves behind is a far better custodian of human dignity
than the one whose first democratically elected president he became in 1994. A self-confident
black middle class is emerging. Democracy is well-entrenched, with regular elections, a
vibrant press, generally decent courts and strong institutions. And South Africa still has
easily sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest and most sophisticated economy.
But since Mr Mandela left the presidency in 1999 his beloved country has disappointed
under two sorely flawed leaders, Thabo Mbeki and now Jacob Zuma. While the rest of
Africa’s economy has perked up, South Africa’s has stumbled. Nigeria’s swelling GDP is


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closing in on South Africa’s. Corruption and patronage within the ANC have become
increasingly flagrant. An authoritarian and populist tendency in ruling circles has become
more strident. The racial animosity that Mr Mandela so abhorred is infecting public
discourse. The gap between rich and poor has remained stubbornly wide. Barely two-fifths of
working-age people have jobs. Only 60% of school-leavers get the most basic high-school
graduation certificate. Shockingly for a country so rich in resources, nearly a third of its
people still live on less than $2 a day.
Without the protection of Mr Mandela’s saintly aura, the ANC will be more harshly judged.
Thanks to its corruption and inefficiency, it already faces competition in some parts of the
country from the white-led Democratic Alliance. South Africa would gain if the ANC split, so
there were two big black-led parties, one composed of communists and union leaders, the
other more liberal and market-friendly.
Man of Africa, hero of the world
The ANC’s failings are not Mr Mandela’s fault. Perhaps he could have been more vociferous
in speaking out against Mr Mbeki’s lethal misguidedness on the subject of HIV/AIDS, which
cost thousands of lives. Perhaps he should have spoken up more robustly against the
corruption around Mr Zuma. In foreign affairs he was too loyal to past friends, such as Fidel
Castro. He should have been franker in condemning Robert Mugabe for his ruination of
Zimbabwe.
But such shortcomings—and South Africa’s failings since his retirement from active
politics—pale into insignificance when set against the magnitude of his overall achievement.
It is hard to think of anyone else in the world in recent times with whom every single person,
in every corner of the Earth, can somehow identify. He was, quite simply, a wonderful man.


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Nelson Mandela (second from right), leader of the African National Congress, was
among 156 political activists arrested and charged with treason in 1956
Source: Getty Images

In 1964 Mr Mandela was found guilty of conspiracy, sabotage and treason. He was
sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Robben Island prison
Source: AFP


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Mr Mandela and his then wife, Winnie, raise their fists on his release from Victor
Verster prison in February 1990. He had been imprisoned for a total of 27 years
Source: AFP

Mr Mandela and Frederik de Klerk, the South African president at the time, were
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for their work to end apartheid
Source: AFP


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Mr Mandela stares out of the window of the prison cell he occupied on Robben Island
Source: Reuters

Mr Mandela in 1994, during the presidential campaign
Source: AFP


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Mr Mandela casts his vote for the first time in his life. The 1994 general election was
South Africa's first democratic and multiracial poll
Source: AFP

Mr Mandela enjoys victory at the ANC's party headquarters
Source: AFP


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President Mandela takes the oath during his inauguration ceremony on May 10th 1994
Source: AFP

Mr Mandela congratulates Francois Pienaar after the South African rugby team that he
captained beat New Zealand in the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup
Source: AFP


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Mr Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 after one term. His deputy, Thabo
Mbeki, became the second democratically elected president of South Africa
Source: AFP

Mr Mandela attends a rally during the 2009 general election


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Mr Mandela and his wife, Graca Machel, at the closing ceremony of the 2010 World
Cup, one of his last public appearances
Source: AFP

Nelson Mandela, 1918 - 2013

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