Top 20 Most Read Articles on the Rational Standard in 2017

A few trends emerge from the list of the Rational Standard‘s 20 most-read articles of 2017. Firstly, the social justice left remain a hot topic and frequently-criticised movement for their antics and downright ignorance and stupidity. Secondly, fears about our economy remain, like corruption in...

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A few trends emerge from the list of the Rational Standard‘s 20 most-read articles of 2017. Firstly, the social justice left remain a hot topic and frequently-criticised movement for their antics and downright ignorance and stupidity. Secondly, fears about our economy remain, like corruption in the state, rampant and is a pressing issue for our South African readers.

Here is a look at the articles that people from around the world read the most and went viral. Written by 12 different authors from all across South Africa with their insights into the political, economical and social issues of our world. Have a look at the top 20 list below in case you missed any of them.

1. Andile Mngxitama Unmasked

Written by: Anthony Stuurman

“Mngxitama was in all likelihood approached by Bell Pottinger between June and early August, just as his financial woes had come to a peak. His financial decisions suggest he was desperate for cash. News reports don’t provide a figure as to how much Mngxitama was offered, but it seems enough, to not only revive his political career, but to turn his back on Pan-African ideals.”

2. Zille and the DA’s Fall

Written by: Nicholas Woode-Smith

“Zille isn’t perfect. She is by no means the best liberal – or maybe even a liberal – in South Africa. But being condemned and disciplined for tweeting the truth is simply unjust. What her fate will decide is if the DA is worth any more hope that it will retain some liberality, or that it will just become a blue ANC.”

3. Exploring Jordan Peterson on the Political Axis

Written by: Nicholas Babaya

“A clinical psychologist, Prof Peterson has had fascinating things to say about the rise of social justice Left and how their ideology is somewhat paradoxical combination of neo-Marxism and postmodernism. He has also bravely spoken out against their harmful ideas in an incredibly conclusive and articulate manner.”

4. ANC 12-Point Plan for Radical Transformation

Written by: Nicholas Woode-Smith

“Anything socialist, especially coupled with racial economic policies, can easily improve one’s abilities to be corrupt and to attain and maintain a disproportionate amount of power.”

5. The “White Privilege” Narrative Has No Legs To Stand On Anymore

Written by: Martin van Staden

“So my advice: never deny white privilege. It is a concept that was specifically designed to entrap you. Engage your opponent on whatever else they are saying, but let the accusation of white privilege flow like water down your back.”

6. Grahamstown’s ‘Batman’ on Trial – Here’s What he has to Say

Written by: Michael Wynne

“Has this affected me? Yes, it has. All over town people make snide comments about me. My reputation is shattered and I will have a tough time finding work; but you know what? Apparently I am Batman and, like Batman, I will rise above this. I will still clean our home. I will still provide food and clothing for the poor and I will fight tooth and nail to keep everyone safe and happy.”

7. Farmers don’t need Black, they need Guns

Written by: Jonathan Wright

“There is literally only one thing that farmers can do to protect themselves, and that is take responsibility and do it themselves. To cut to the chase, farmers (many of whom own firearms), need to remove them from the bedroom safe, buy a holster, and carry it everywhere they go, and always keep it in arms reach.”

8. Modern Feudalism in South Africa

Written by: Nicholas Woode-Smith

“The irony of the conflict over land in South Africa is lost to most of its combatants. While pontiffs fabricate stats on white ownership of land, establishing ‘white monopoly capital’ as a bogeyman, they always tend to ignore that approximately 17 million South Africans still inhabit an artefact of Apartheid – the vestiges of the homeland system – without any meaningful guarantees of land tenure, despite constitutional promises.”

9. White Male Trolls ‘Social Justice’ Press Media – Calls for Disenfranchising White Males

Written by: Martin van Staden

“It would appear that this has remained true, especially for clearly-ideological publications such as The Huffington Post which hide behind the facade of responsible journalism. HuffPost SA should join the Rational Standard in being open and honest about its political-philosophical biases, lest humiliations such as “Garlandgate” continue.”

10. South Africa comes 2nd in Misery Index

Written by: Nicholas Woode-Smith

“South Africa is no doubt suffering under a miserable economy. The anecdotal evidence of seas of shanty towns and beggars at intersections may already suggest to the layman that our economy is not healthy. Further studies into our real unemployment rate, lack of real economic growth, overall destitution and other empirical evidence proves that our place on the Misery Index is very much earned.”

11. Editorial: Don’t be Distracted – Media, not Roodt, are to Blame

Written by: The Editor

“South Africa does not have a healthy intellectual discourse and our lack of journalistic transparency does not help. Outlets such as the Post and others have not succeeded in encouraging healthy discourse – on the contrary, South African media has succeeded in drowning out rational voices in favour of hysteria. The Post, The Daily Vox, Daily Maverick, Mail & Guardian, etc. have as a substantial majority of contributors individuals who toe the social justice line.”

12. 6 Reasons Why South Africa is Not a Successful Country

Written by: Tim Bester

“The current regime sells itself as just such an agency and, sadly, the majority believes that it can derive an enduring benefit from government of this kind. Time will prove them wrong.”

13. #MenAreTrash and the Oppressive (Wo)man-Babies

Written by: Mpiyakhe Dhlamini

“There is an intellectual background to all of this, involving cultural Marxism and all the structural nonsense that has so poisoned our discourse.”

14. The False God of Equality

Written by: Dillon Williams

“Whatever else they may have been in the past, classical liberals, libertarians, anarcho-capitalists, small government conservatives, individualists and traditionalists currently form a disjointed, ragtag collection of strange bedfellows who can be characterized as being on ‘the right’ because they all accept one common realization. That realization is that an unhinged push for equality is a false god that spells doom for any society.”

15. Zucked: RT temporarily suspended on Facebook

Written by: Nicholas Babaya

“Mainstream media outlets CNN, NBC and CBS similarly had livestreams of the press conference on their respective Facebook pages with no sanction received. While the cause of the sanction to RT is not definitely known, it is worthwhile to note Facebook’s history of suspending pages with conservative or libertarian leanings.”

16. UCT Students Finally Reject Fallism Decisively

Written by: Prof Tim Crowe

“On 4 May 2017, UCT announced an uncharacteristically strong message from its 30000 students. They are sick and tired of ideology and politics on campus in general and intimidating, violent and destructive fallist tactics against the UCT Students Representative Council (SRC) in particular.

17. Re-racialization and proto-Fascism at UCT: a tale of four meetings

Written by: Prof Tim Crowe

“In this pursuit, lawbreaking fallist elements have adopted key attributes of fascists: authoritarian nationalism (under the guise of neo-Black Consciousness), irrationalism, suppression of free press/speech and academic freedom, violence in pursuit of ‘liberation’, contempt for ordinary democratic politics, and intolerance/character assassination towards critics and opponents. All that is missing is a Führer or Duce.”

18. SACP goes in alone: Will they survive?

Written by: Nicholas Woode-Smith

“Overall, I find this a welcome move by an unwelcome party. The SACP does well because it doesn’t have to do anything. Becoming independent will probably break them. Above this, without a strong communist bloc within the ANC, more reasonable members may be able to enact logical change from within. So, take this as my blessing for the SACP’s secession. I wish them luck.”

19. The EFF is hypocritical in its handling of racial debates

Written by: Kamogelo Mangena

“What do the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African National Congress (ANC) have in common? The fact that the leaders of both have been found to be in violation of the Constitution? Or both pontificate about the Freedom Charter (which interestingly was drafted by the white elite); or that both are adept populists, race-baiting demagogues sprinkled with grains of misogyny and entitlement? You will receive no prize for guessing that the one thread that unites these two political parties is — without equivocation — hypocrisy.”

20. New York Women’s March: Conscience and Confusion

Written by: Dirk Scheepers

“Perhaps my moral compass is not calibrated to true North. Perhaps Donald Trump’s small hands groping at a woman’s vagina is the biggest threat to women’s rights. I don’t know. All I knew that Saturday morning, was that I had completely forgotten about my coffee.”

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