The University of the Western Cape (UWC) reaffirmed its commitment to solidarity with the Palestinian people recently by hosting a lecture entitled Rethinking Liberalism after Gaza.

In April this year, the UWC Council called for the immediate ceasefire and aid to Gaza and weeks later UWC announced an immediate academic disengagement from Israeli institutions.

Hosted by the Faculty of Education, Dr Richard Pithouse delivered a comprehensive account of liberalism’s history and its claim to universal moral authority in South Africa and around the world.

The discussion critically examined liberalism, its historical roots, and its contemporary manifestations.

Pithouse provided a thought-provoking analysis of liberalism's contradictions and exclusions - particularly about the Gaza conflict and the role of liberal states.

Pithouse noted that despite the South African government’s decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on charges of genocide, liberals held onto their contrary opinions.

“Our relations ebb and flow. Liberals in South Africa are extremely self-assured at the moment. They feel very entitled to power and are confident in it,” he said.

The lecture traced the origins of liberalism to philosophers like John Locke and John Stuart Mill, highlighting their support for slavery, colonialism, and the denial of rights to certain groups.

Pithouse said: “Liberalism has always been a project of selective rights and freedoms, with its benefits reserved for a privileged few and here in South Africa we see this in the defence of Israel's actions and their lack of support for violence against Palestinians.”

Dr Richard Pithouse is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Global Centre for Advanced Studies in Dublin and New York, an International Research Scholar in the Philosophy Department at the University of Connecticut, a Research Associate in the Philosophy Department at the University of Johannesburg and a columnist for the Mail & Guardian.