American Reconstruction

We can't afford the false starts and frustrated expectations of the American Reconstruction. Our own experiment in non-racial democracy is too important to fall victim to pessimism and timidity.

The truly extraordinary thing about our present isn't the array of problems confronting us, but how vastly far we have come since that day in 1994 when we went to the polls in South Africa's first democratic election. Since then we have created internationally respected state institutions, implemented surprisingly effective development programmes and improved the lives of millions in a way that I have no doubt will prove sustainable and which provide a solid platform from which to move into the future with confidence.

Above all, I am encouraged by the sense of political renewal that seems to have swept our country in recent months. Everywhere, entrenched certainties are being challenged; where there was deadlock, there is now a new fluidity; where problems seemed intractable, solutions are again being debated. In part, of course, this is the result of the faultlines that are emerging in a governing party which we had begun to believe was monolithic and unchallengeable.

But I cannot help feeling that the Obama phenomenon has also impacted on our politics.

Obama's phenomenal rise

The really remarkable thing about Barack Obama's phenomenal rise from virtually nowhere has been his reawakening of something long dormant in the West — a faith in the salutary power of politics and a sense of hope about the worth of public service. Not since the early days of John Kennedy's presidency has there been so tangible a resurgence of confidence in politics as a beneficial means to change the world for the better.

Cynicism about politics has been one of the most defining characteristics of recent decades and has, of course, always been a powerful imperative in the United States, where distrust of government is deeply ingrained in the popular psyche. But cynicism can be a dangerous condition, if only because it sees things as they are rather than as they should be. I see it all about me in my own country, where it has taken the form of disappointed idealism, corroding our confidence in Government's ability to improve the lot of the impoverished, the homeless and the sick.

Amid our political squabbling and resulting state inertia, what South Africa needs now is to regain its faith in the nobility of politics as both a calling and a means of creating a better society. Having watched his progress through the primaries and the election campaign itself, I am convinced that my country is crying out for its own Obama era, in which a re-energised combination of citizens' hope and politicians' idealism is able to create the kind of society we know we deserve and to which we all aspired at the advent of democracy.

Power of our example

But threats of violence, expressions of intolerance and bellicose language are the enemy of such idealism and are no substitute for the reasoned discourse which our times demand. Nor are they a substitute for the resolute and effective exercise of government power in the interest of the most needy. In his speech at the Democratic Party convention, Bill Clinton said: "People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

None of this is to suggest that Government, alone, can tackle the many problems facing South Africa. Without a strong, confident and socially engaged private sector, there can be no economic growth, none of the restorative innovation of which only the market is capable, and no large-scale generation of employment.

My own company has since its inception sought to spread its influence by setting an example of social and economic excellence. Whether through our social investment programmes or our commitment to consumer sovereignty, Pick n Pay has striven to adhere to the principles handed down to me by three remarkable men.

The first was Professor William Hutt who taught me when I was a commerce student at the University of Cape Town. He believed implicitly in the principle of consumer sovereignty, and his words, "Treat the customer like a Queen and she will make you a King" made a lasting impression on me.