How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

by Michael Schur

Here’s what Ngubane writes about the reasons an Afrikaner nationalist might perpetuate Apartheid, even in the face of its inherent moral rot: He sees it as a way of life, a world outlook by which to create for himself the social order after his design.… History to him is a continually unfolding experience whose real validity lies not so much in its being a guide to the future as in being a justification.… When pressed to modify it, he is bewildered. In his view, all this is tantamount to saying he should renounce the world he has created for himself. Saying “this world is problematic” amounts to saying “I, who have helped build this world, am problematic.” For people deeply invested in the way things are, any change would mean confronting decisions they’ve made that created or sustained the troubling reality.