Presenter: Dr Wahbie Long

In this talk, Wahbie examines the prospects for Golden Rule living (treating others as you would have them treat you, and not doing to others what you would not have them do to you) in South Africa.

In his recent book, Nation on the Couch (MF Books, 2021), Dr Wahbie Long advances the Golden Rule – treating others as you would have them treat you, and not doing to others what you would not have them do to you – as a strategy for addressing the relational pathologies that typify life in South Africa. In a traumatized society crippled by debilitating affects, however, how possible is it to keep such reflective capacities alive? In this talk, Wahbie examines the prospects for Golden Rule living in South Africa.

Dr Wahbie Long is a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the Department of Psychology and the director of the Child Guidance Clinic at the University of Cape Town. Widely published on the history, theory and indigenization of psychology, he is interested in the application of psychoanalytic theory to social issues in South Africa.