The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) marched from Johannesburg to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 27 and 28 October 2011 to deliver their demand for “economic freedom” policies to be adopted in South Africa. However, the demands they make constitute policies that are the very opposite of the real meaning of the words “economic freedom”. To affix the term “economic freedom” to a call for government to act as a tyrant and ruthlessly take private property “with or without compensation” is perverting language and its meaning.

The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange co-ordinated by markets, freedom to enter and compete in markets, and protection of persons and their property from aggression by others. This means that ANCYL’s demand for the nationalisation of the mines is antieconomic freedom, as are its demands for forced local beneficiation, prohibition of labour broking, and taking property without just compensation.

Report published by the Free Market Foundation