Seeking Ignorance

“There is always work for those who want to work – Judy Thomas”  I assure you, this is not by design – but the next guest on my podcast is another person who personifies the essence of work ethic. But she is much more than that. She is the personification of spirit, heart and perseverance. […]

Professor Rashid Begg

The Spanish philosopher Baltasar Gracián y Morales said “A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.”

In that regard, my guest on this episode of the podcast is probably the personification of wisdom. Born in South Africa under Apartheid, he was denied the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a medical doctor due to the policies of Apartheid. After a few years as a medical physiologist, he emigrated to Canada where he studied for a PhD in religious studies at the University of Toronto, and eventually returned home to South Africa where he received a PhD in Sociology from the prestigious Stellenbosch University.

In the course of his studies, he observed that his academic hero, Max Weber had given high praise to the same people whose philosophy had given rise to Apartheid. Intrigued, he began an intense study of the Afrikaner, their history and philosophy of life. Specifically he studied how the principles of John Calvin and the protestant work ethic drove the Afrikaners to embrace modern capitalism and how the Afrikaner employed those to excel in businesses that rely on trust, integrity, frugality, long term focus, investment and reinvestment. These are personified by the first class financial and insurance sector in South Africa.

He wrote a book titled “The Afrikaners, Capitalism and Max Weber’s Ghost” based on his Doctoral Research.

Today he is a Professor of Sociology. He is currently at the University of the Western Cape, and has previously being the Acting Director of Resources, Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Kurdistan – Hewler, Iraq. Prior to his move to Kurdistan he worked as a lecturer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and prior to that, as a researcher at the University of Toronto, Canada.

In this discussion, he tells me what he learned from the Afrikaner, why he has learned to respect them, why monotheistic religion increases the likelihood of genocide and cruelty. We also discuss sociology as a tool for understanding the world.

We also discuss the state of Islam today, and how he is able to reconcile being a devout muslim with being a methodological atheist like his hero Max Weber.

Finally we talk about the Afrikaner philosophy as a way forward for Africa’s development. Not the Apartheid philosophy, but their values of hard work, community, frugality, investment and reinvestment.

We cover a lot! Personally this is one interview that I intend to revisit as often as possible.

You can connect with him on Linkedin and buy his books on Amazon.

Download this episode on itunes.

Hi, welcome to the very first episode of the seeking ignorance podcast. I started this podcast because I realised that I am extremely ignorant about a lot of things, and nobody has enough time to read or learn the things that we do not know. So I am on a quest to interview the most interesting people I can find and tap their knowledge. 

This first episode is with my dear friend Dickson R. O. Okello. He is a PhD scholar at the University of Cape Town with a focus on public health. 

Here is the link to his Google Scholar citations.

I could think of no better person to startup the podcast with. We drank beer, played play station and talked about everything we could think of including how his admiration for a red gown led him to pursue a PhD. We also discussed how helping a client arrange expensive surgery on dogs helped him get admission to study a PhD. It’s hilarious.

Some of the other topics we discussed include InstaGratification, why young Africans are running away from the continent, Donald Trump, Global Health and a whole lot more.

Finally, here is his reading list, a list of all the books he has read, is reading or hopes to read.