Dr. Alex Borraine once said, “ I still believe that goodness and beauty, compassion and new beginnings, can triumph over the evil which seems to be all-persuasive.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu is an incredibly controversial man, with this being said his speech at Stellenbosch in August 2011 made headlines around the world. His speech was about the fact that the white population, being the beneficiaries of the apartheid system, should pay a “wealth tax”. This caused heavy debate within our country and therefore the main topic that will be addressed in this essay. Specific reference will be made to transformative constitutionalism and whether this “wealth tax” would be constitutional within our country.
The late Chief Justice Pius Langa wrote a report regarding the concept of transformative constitutionalism, his report make reference to defining what transformative constitutionalism is to help understand such a broad topic and ultimately the challenges that our country is faced to create an substantively equal society. Thus these challenges address what South Africans as well as what the government needs to fix in order to create and equal society and to fix the injustices of the past.
Chief Justice Pius Langa refers to the concept that transformative constitutionalism cannot have one single meaning and that, “in keeping with the spirit of transformation that there is no single stable understanding of the meaning of transformative constitutionalism. This is also shown with regard to Chief Justice Moseneke he has said, “the meaning of transformation in juridicial terms is as highly contested as it is difficult to formulate,’’ this then shows that the topic of transforming a country and transformative constitutionalism as a whole is ...
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...ruggle or in some cases continue to struggle if this tax was a continuous one. This tax is aimed at helping the disadvantaged and creating equality within our country and with the help from this tax our country would be on its way to moving forward to that step. The Khulumani Support Group welcomed this “wealth tax” in a statement that set out fair steps that should be taken by government officials to put this wealth tax in place. Their steps are not only fair but are also logical, wanting at least R2 billion for 5 years thus when divided up providing R2000 per month to the amount of victims that are estimated at around 120, 000.
In conclusion, If this wealth tax is done fairly and logically then it would be a incredibly good solution to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor as well as creating a climate for social reconciliation and substantive equality.
From five states arose delegates who would soon propose an idea that would impact the United States greatly. The idea was to hold a meeting in Philadelphia called the Constitutional Convention in 1787 meant to discuss the improvements for the Articles of Confederation and would later be called the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution was greatly influenced by Ancient Rome, the Enlightenment, and Colonial Grievances.
You may be thinking how did the constitution stop tyranny? Well we have the answer. Let's start of with what tyranny means, that a leader or king abuses their power. How did the constitution guard against tyranny? Well they abuse their power bad deeds. The constitution guard against tyranny in these four ways. Federalism, separation of power, checks and balances, and small states vs. large states.
For many years, the question of how adaptable and flexible the constitution is in Australia has been widely debated. As of now the atmosphere of verbal confrontation on protected change, has restored enthusiasm toward the issue in exploring whether the constitution is versatile and adaptable in meeting the needs of the nation following 100 years in being embraced.
The Constitution is the foundation of our county it represents liberty and justice for all. We are able to live freely and do, as we desire because of the constitution. The constitution was, signed September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It took time and many debates were held before an agreement was achieved in both the drafting and ratification of the constitution. These disagreements came with several compromises before the constitution was fully ratified on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last and the thirteenth. The First, challenge was the Articles of Confederation; it was a sort of a draft of the Constitution but was weak and inadequate. Second, obstacle was the Anti-Federalists fight for more
The scenes in creation being intellectual, the put together of constitutional democracy was very empirical. The Constitutional Convention was convened to formulate the constitution. What had to be clear was that the only way to assure a functioning constitutional democracy was the public's discussion. In philadelphia the delegates compromised. The outcome was to integrate states with large populations and states with small populations with a bicameral legislative branch. Also compromises that guaranteed say from both slave owning states and non-slave states could be listened to. The Bill of Rights
Upon the opening words of the Constitution, "We the People do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America," one must ask, who are these people? While the American Constitution provided its citizens with individual rights, many members were excluded. Elite framers manipulated the idea of a constitution in order to protect their economic interests and the interests of their fellow white land and slave owning men' by restricting the voices of women, slaves, indentured servants and others. Therefore, the Constitution cannot truly be considered a "democratic document." However, because it is a live document, malleable and controllably changeable according to the interest of congress, it has enabled us to make reforms overtime. Such reforms that have greatly impacted America, making us the free, independent nation that we are today.
Many poor and middle classes can’t afford to take care of their families because of the increase taxation on themselves and their family. They have to suffer because of wealthy people's’ decisions. Also, the wealthy have enough money to pay more taxes than the normal tax payer. It's affecting everyone. The taxation is hurting the poor financially. As a result, their communities are being affected negatively because of the increasing amount of poor people, which is ridiculous and breathtaking.
There are several key constitutional principles, such as popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, individual rights, and so on. The United States is a democracy and residences are considered the source of the government powers. Since America is well known for freedom, it is obvious that the government does not have powers to control everything. Limited government is another type of the constitutional principles as well.
... the devotion to agendas other than justice, the rejection of standing up for the right thing and no mercy are problems King and Mandela address. To remedy4hese perils, the two men suggest that those in power be sure that their laws are just, be willing to negotiate and share their power, and have the spirit to stand strong for what is just and right. Though a single problem can weigh down political power, no one solution can solve it. It must be a combination of these and/or many more in order to solve the true perils of political power. The truth is, when something it so highly desired, so highly revered such as political power, corruption lurks behind every corner. It is up to those in charge (as well as those that influence them to be sure that this power is not corrupted, not abused. This is the preservation of politics; this is the preservation of justice.
In James DeFronzo’s book Revolution and Revolutionary Movements, the author depicts the apartheid system in South Africa and its political transformation. Through reading the ninth chapter of DeFronzo’s book, the reader can better understand the modifications made to the apartheid system and the causes for the rapid political transformation throughout 1959-1999.
The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. The Articles had created a very weak national government. At the time the Articles were approved, they had served the will of the people. Americans had just fought a war to get freedom from a great national authority--King George III (Patterson 34). But after this government was put to use, it was evident that it was not going to keep peace between the states. The conflicts got so frequent and malicious that George Washington wondered if the “United” States should be called a Union (Patterson 35). Shays’ Rebellion finally made it evident to the public that the government needed a change.
While an uncodified constitution has the advantages of dynamic, adaptability and flexibility to meet the ever-changing needs of the society , it poses much difficulty in pinpointing the ultimate constitutional principle that should provide legitimacy in the British constitution. This results in a battle between two broad schools of thought––political constitutionalism and legal constitutionalism.
The Constitution or “the supreme law of the land”, as stated in article six in the constitution is very complex. It is complex not only in its actual text full of ambiguities and vagueness, but it becomes more complex when used in practice and interpreted. Constitutional interpretation is significant because it is what decides what the constitution actually means. Constitutional interpretation is a guide judges use to find the legal meaning of the constitution. The interpretation of the constitution and amendments can make a big impact on outcomes. In our government and Judiciary, we see commonly see originalism being used to interpret the constitution and amendments, but there
The drafting and implementation of a new constitution that sets up the core values of statehood, fundamental rights, the main models of the rule of law, independent and unbiased carrying out of justice, and power separation. ‘The hour of the lawyers’, as he stated that.
Our beloved Madiba once said: “My wish is that South Africans never give up on the belief in goodness, that they cherish that faith in human beings as a cornerstone of our democracy. The first value mentioned under the founding principles of our Constitution is that of human dignity. We accord persons dignity by assuming that they are good, that they share the human qualities we ascribe to ourselves. Historical enemies succeeded in negotiating a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy exactly because we were prepared to accept the inherent capacity for goodness in the other.”