There is more going on Â�here, however, than mere “us versus them”
claims of historical priority and original own�ership. For Malema also
deploys a powerful language of universalism, in which “everyone has the
right to benefit from wealth in South Africa.”16 What he calls “economic
freedom,” he insists, does not exclude whites. “We never said they must
be sent to sea. We just want to share the cake.”17 South Africa’s wealth
should properly belong to all South Africans—Â�all should be ownÂ�ers,
and all should receive a share. And equality must mean not just po�liti�cal
equality but economic equality, which he understands as an equality of
own�ership, own�ership shared equally.18 As he told the Rustenburg crowd,
“Never apologise for demanding an equal share.”19