What happened to critical thinking?
What happened to the observe and embed before you consume and comment?

I am not imagining it, that the rise of global connectivity, the ubiquity of the internet & the proliferation of social media has seen in proportion the rise of “willful stupidity and ignorance”.

I had been thinking for some time of the crass and short-term state of corruption in much of the developing world. It’s not just Africa, LATAM and parts of Asia too.

The short-term zero-sum game of the corrupt & the cannibalistic fat-belly stature of the corruptor.

In Europe and much of the developed world, the corrupt have learnt to use their proceeds of corruption to finance their futures, lest they lose their positions. They have learnt to use complex financial instruments to safeguard their financial interests in perpetuity. Simple idea: steal today and earn for the foreseeable future. Not brandy.

So, when I say that a minister should have used shares to store the value of her proceeds of corruption, the “lynch anything that sounds intelligent” brigade that masking itself as ‘pseudo-woke’ jump to their stubby fingers to post what I can only call foolishness. Now, I am obviously not an imagining a situation where a sitting minister would own shares traceable to him/her directly. And to presume that this is my full and final suggestions demonstrates an inability to think.

Disclaimer: I am not promoting corruption. Corruption like cancer doesn’t need promotion. It exists. It needs prosecution.

THINK!

All over the world, the purveyors of capital use equity and other financial instruments to store value. Not “braai packs”. But the problem with an education system that passes our learners at 33% in a society where pseudo-celebrities are considered “influencers” is that those kids grow up to be adults who believe that reasoning at 33% is the level at which we all think.

Any idea, logic or thought above this level is the premium you pay for ridicule. And so in an odd turn of it, critical thinking is no-longer en-vogue.

Here are some thoughts:

If a minister takes a braai pack as payment, what does that tell about their relationship with the future?

Why do leaders in Europe and much of the developed world use blind trusts, offshore structures and tax havens to hide their gains?

If this is how our leaders think, can we expect them to create a future that is inclusive, growth-oriented & technologically driven?

Its true what they say, citizens get the leaders they deserve.

The pity of the 33% mentality is that most of the comment and ridicule brigade won’t have the intellectual stamina to read through this entire post.

Life, for them, is 280 characters.

The problem with the world today is that so-called “influencers” don’t think and thinkers don’t have influence. In a world where a failed radio neardowells has more followers than a business school faculty member, the balance of opinion is dumbed down to the 33%.

Now… back to your regular program.

Vusi Thembekwayo
Speaker |Investor | Leader