Articles for Terry Bell

Socialism: myths, prejudices and reality

The global economic crisis continues and makes for a widespread and desperate need among the lowly paid, the poor and the hungry for something better to look forward to.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 26 November 2015

The cost of death for the living

We, as a nation, are deeply in debt. And that is very worrying, with declining disposable incomes the rising costs of living and with another festive season fast approaching. Government admits that many households are drowning in debt”. So the plea is for citizens to save more and to retain pensions rather than cash in existing provisions.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 5 October 2015

Getting the facts right on assessments

To test or not to test? That is not the question although it is the way the current row about basic education has largely been presented.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 29 September 2015

Making robots work for us

If the rise of robots — the spread of automation — is killing jobs and threatening the world with disaster, how can this be seen as potentially beneficial? It’s a question that is frequently asked and seldom answered.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 21 September 2015

Act now to protect Western Cape’s bees

South Africa’s R7 billion a year fruit industry is threatened with potentially massive job and financial losses. It is a looming crisis that calls for urgent and comprehensive action at government level before the threat, still restricted to the Western Cape, spreads. It is also something that highlights the integrated nature of the modern economy.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 14 September 2015

Is the sale of sexual favours work?

What is work? This question came very much to the fore over the past week after Amnesty International, called for “sex work” to be decriminalised. The international human rights organisation made the call after a two-year investigation into the “sex industry”. It came shortly after two local gender equality and human rights groups also called for law change.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 7 September 2015

What solution to a world in crisis?

Oh, when will they ever learn? It’s the last line in every stanza of a famous Pete Seeger anti-war song. And it is wholly appropriate this week as we digest the latest GDP figures against a background of ongoing crises especially in the steel, mining and manufacturing sectors. Along with, of course, the continuing collapse of the rand.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 31 August 2015

South Africa, colonialism, language and China

The whole question of colonialism has come to the fore again, courtesy of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) and its vehement objection to the introduction of the Chinese Mandarin dialect to local schools.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 24 August 2015

Mining people for profits

Large scale redundancies in the South African mining sector, running to tens of thousands of jobs, are probably inevitable. But only because of the system in which we have to operate.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 17 August 2015