It is common knowledge that strikes, go-slows, sit-ins and other weapons of working-class protest against the excesses of profit taking by companies are necessary checks to unbridled capital accumulation in market economies. These tools are employed to achieve very specific objectives in the unfolding drama between capital and labour.
The SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) clearly understands this. And yet, it has continued its reckless course of confrontation by not calling off the rolling strike by security guards, despite the spate of deaths and the mayhem that it is causing.
With every passing day, and the possibility of more deaths, Satawu is eroding its reputation as a responsible workers' organisation. It has to take responsibility for the "orgy" in Cape Town. It has to take responsibility for creating conditions in which the murders of fellow non-striking guards are continuing.
Satawu operates in a "strategic" sector. As a major mover and shaker in transport, it knows that it can bring the country to its knees.
Up until two weeks ago, it stuck to the letter of the law but it must uphold the constitutional principle of the right to disagree. It also needs to return to its set and agreed objectives when the strike was started.
While the demands for better working conditions and for better wages are legitimate, Satawu must stop participating in activities that are ripping communities apart.
My friends in London tell me that President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's $50 a barrel of oil man, is creating waves in the UK by rejecting "all things Blair" and railing against the "neo-liberal" agenda of the former social democrat turned lapdog of US commander-in-chief George W Bush.
You will no doubt know that Chavez does indeed sit on rather large quantities of the black gold, and he has made his anti-Bush sentiments very clear. You will also recall that this is the same chap who has come out in support of Bolivia's President Evo Morales, who in turn has decided to nationalise his country's energy reserves.
This is certainly not music to Tony Blair's ears. Then again, the British premier has been behaving rather oddly for quite a few years now. Some analysts say the Conservatives don't need another Maggie. With Blair in charge, Thatcherism is alive and being heard loudly and clearly. Privatisation of state assets, privatisation of council estates the list of the state's family silver being sold off by Blair's New Labour would make any Tory proud.
In this beer-drinking global village, where wine and spirits are drunk, or should I say sipped, by the "haves" and the "have-lots", multinational SABMiller has toasted a magnificent 19 percent rise in revenue to $15.3 billion (R92 billion).
But for Beer South Africa, the brewer's local outfit, things were not so hunky-dory. For the 12 months to March, the unit posted a slight cut in volumes sold to the "have-nots", those pesky blue-collar workers who account for 80 percent by volume of beer sold.
Tony van Kralingen, Beer SA's managing director, says this indicates that the have-nots are not benefiting from the country's growth.
I begin to worry when a worker's scale of benefits is measured against the quantities of beer drunk. He seems to be saying: the more you drink, the more you will be benefiting from the country's growth. How cynical can you get?
As South Africans continue their downward slide to a fully fledged debt-driven society, the Bureau of Economic Research has let out that slower consumer spending is likely to slow growth.
This may be true, but it is not the issue. The fact is that people are borrowing against what they already owe. Lending against existing mortgages to buy such things as cars, new furniture, home appliances and other gadgets is becoming the norm and needs to be nipped in the bud.
Ann Crotty, in her deadpan way, reports that it would be difficult to surpass the pointlessness of the Liberty Holdings remuneration committee. The firm does not employ any staff and the committee meets to decide how much it should pay itself from divvies handed out by Liberty Group. Way to go, guys.