Themba Versus Tina There is an economic debate here but it seems caught up in slogans like one articulated by Margaret Thatcher’s famous retort to critics of her free market economic strategy. When pressed about economic injustice, the Iron Lady was dismissive, insisting, “There is no alternative.” This defense of the status quo was soon translated into the catchy phrase “TINA,” meaning “There Is No Alternative” to capitalism. In South Africa recently, a counterslogan was coined in the campaign to get the debt burden canceled: “THEMBA” stands for “There Must Be an Alternative.” In Zulu, the word “themba” means hope.
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