world
When is appropriation appropriate?
The answer is almost always. Cultural borrowing and exchange are the fuel of human creative progress.
The idea that “cultural appropriation” must be guarded against, and rooted out, is arguably one of the wobbliest ideas that the era of identity politics has given us. Cultural appropriation is a vastly bigger and healthier process than its opportunist edges: in a very real sense, it is the engine of human intellectual progress.
04.2024 | Carlos Amato
Fashion designer, Diane Von Furstenberg, once said “everything in fashion begins in the streets”. In the midst of our consumer culture, where fashion trends change quarterly and we feel pressure to adhere, we have become out of touch with the true ingenuity and creativity with which it all began
02.2024 | Rachel Edelstein
How ancient trees are becoming a hot new investment asset for the rich
After the financial crisis in 2008, rich people branched out into greener pastures by putting their generational wealth into acres of lands with roots in ancient trees. This global economic event alerted the rich because they saw their assets heavily affected, driving investments in safer commodities that grow in the long-term with a value that isn’t determined by unpredictable highs and lows of stock market forces.
09.2023 | Rebone Masemola
Born in 1548, a captured Ethiopian herdsman is sold as a slave in Yemen, taken to Baghdad and from there to present day India, Malik Ambar not only raised his own armies, but casually replaced kings when they became annoying. A remarkable true story that is not nearly as well-known as it should be.
05.2023 | Jen Isaac
Private Schooling – is it worth the costs?
Lush manicured lawns, posh accents, and parents with executive positions. Being a private school kid is something I’ve always worn with a badge of honour.
05.2023 | Tendani Mulaudzi
The future of corporate fashion after lockdown
The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have sent shockwaves of change rippling throughout the world.
10.2022 | Jack Calland
Populism: a human face of technological progress
Populism became one of the most widely used political terms in 2016 after Donald Trump was elected to the White House and the UK electorate voted ‘GO’ in the Brexit referendum.
10.2022 | Jon Stilwell
Will Chile’s dark history be eclipsed by a brighter future?
For travellers with a taste for history and a curiosity about the future, this is an ideal time to visit Chile.
08.2022 | Lesley Stone
Stoicism as a business philosophy
Have you read? We have all lived through it. The locations vary, maybe in a boardroom, a cocktail party, a business pitch, even just drinks with colleagues at work.
07.2022 | Alistair Duff
The big deal about small nations
Are tiny societies happier than big ones? Plucky Cape Verde and many other thriving little nations seem to confirm that hypothesis. But the case for subdividing the world’s broken big countries is much harder to make …
06.2022 | Carlos Amato
Crowdfunding as a serious business model
An increasing number of large corporates see crowdfunding as a way to bring in extra money to finance innovation and boost their customer engagement.
06.2022 | Nicole Wills
The ugly truth about ‘pretty privilege
In 1889, legendary Russian writer Leo Tolstoy said, “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness” (Kreutzer Sonata).
06.2021 | Tiffany Markman
Rocnation? What’s that in English?
NOT long after Siya Kolisi became the Springboks’ first black captain in 2018, the Gwijo Squad – a passionate and particularly vocal group of young black professionals who revived an old tradition of singing Xhosa songs at sporting events – factored his name into the lyrics of an old favourite.
06.2021 | Simnikiwe Xabanisa
Considering the origins of this activist byword, has it been diluted into mere online slang by mainstream use?
Do you consider yourself to be woke? If you do, you probably know that this term for being enlightened or aware, particularly about racism and social justice, is a political byword of African-American origin.
04.2021 | Tiffany Markman
Crowdfunding. More proof that everything is hackable. Even money.
Joseph Pulitzer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Alexander Pope and the history of crowdfunding
The collective financing of an outcome is not a new concept. It has been in existence for over 300 years, but the term ‘crowdfunding’ is just entering its teens. And, it seems, has only just begun.
11.2020 | Nicole Wills
Sharing positive - can good news save the planet?
Albert Schweitzer, a German physician and Nobel Peace Prize winner, coined the phrase “Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it”.
10.2020 | Jon Stilwell
Trivia that will make you seem smarter
It may be a while before we can safely sit down at a dinner party but when we do, we certainly don’t want to be talking COVID-19.
10.2020 | Ingrid Wood
Pyramid schemes and multilevel marketing
How many people feel completely assured that they will retire comfortably?
09.2020 | Nicole Wills
Moral Money Series: Christianity
The problem in examining ‘Christianity’ – as with most religions – is that when you use the term, it refers to a wide variety of ideologies and aesthetic expressions.
07.2020 | Pete van der Walt
The profit made from war and words
It is in documenting our conflicts that propaganda first began.
06.2018 | Lee Blake
Moral Money Series: An introduction to faith and finance around the world
Religion affects the lives of adherents and non-adherents in very real, very immediate economic ways.
07.2017 | Pete van der Walt
Wanting to work – the story of South Africa’s labour market since 1994
South Africa has not been experiencing jobless growth since 1994. Rather, it has been suffering from a skills mismatch.
07.2017 | Frans Cronje
The ethical sources of terrorist power: Understanding asymmetric war
Conventional wars are fought between states. Asymmetrical wars are different, and so are the weapons.
07.2017 | Mervyn Frost