pramakoa

It is with great sorrow that we announce the untimely passing of Steven Gruzd, Head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Programme at SAIIA. An integral part of the Institute, Steve was known for his unwavering dedication to his work and his commitment to the policy community in Africa. We will miss his brilliant mind, his deep camaraderie and his gentle spirit. His absence leaves a significant void at SAIIA and across the continent he served so passionately. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Steve’s family, friends and all those who had the pleasure of working alongside him. May his soul rest in peace. 🕊️

Hayek's fundamental argument about information economics implies that central planning is impossible because the information required for economic activity is only manifested in the practice of economic activity by the agents. Blocking private enterprise means blocking the process by which this information is manifested. It's not a problem of the central planner lacking computational power, or even a problem of providing incentives in order to extract the information (i.e., it's not a problem of mechanism design). His argument is that this information fundamentally does not exist in a form that can be articulated and communicated through, lets say, writing. Lets consider an example: can the average person write down their utility function in a piece of paper and give the paper to the government in such a way that the central planning computer can replicate that person's consumption patterns over a period of lets say, a year?

Maggie Friedman, walks to the graveside with Rev. Paul Verryn, at the funeral of David Webster, Johannesburg, May 1989. Photo: Gisele Wulfsohn

On behalf of MANY South African citizens, we hope Israel 🇮🇱 wins its ICJ case against the ANC (aka South African government).