The recent affirmation of the ANC Youth League’s policy that farmland, mines and banks should be nationalised has created much anxiety among South Africans. To date, a solid counterargument has not been put forward to start a debate on the issue of nationalisation. Certain basic principles underlying the functioning of an economy and wealth creation in a country are absent from the ANCYL’s reasoning on nationalisation. First, any political leader should know that the basis for a thriving community and economy is the right to private ownership. Private ownership is essentially the right to own land without fear of it being taken by the state. Private ownership makes the creation of debt markets and the establishment of banks and other financial institutions possible, thereby fuelling entrepreneurship ‒ that is, the ability of the common man to start a business and to create jobs. Private ownership is therefore a requirement for poverty alleviation. The mines and agricultural activities form the backbone of the South African economy. They have an impact on every aspect of our lives. A disruption of these activities would not only result in the owners of farms and mines being disenfranchised, but also cause a food supply crisis which, in turn, would affect the demand and supply of goods and services, high inflation rates and a run on the banks. Nationalisation destroys the income generating capabilities of a society. This destroys the tax base. Without a tax base there would be less money available for government to spend on its core functions and development programs.
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