Leon Louw: A Legacy of Solutions – ideas too clear to ignore, too powerful to forget

What do you do when a country finds itself stuck at an economic impasse (again)? When the old solutions no longer work and the new ones sound suspiciously familiar?

You revisit the man who helped write the first blueprint.

Four decades ago, Leon Louw co-authored The Solution with Frances Kendall, a bestseller that helped shape South Africa’s Constitution. It was bold. It was idealistic. And it worked, at least for a while.

Now, as the nation reaches another turning point, Louw’s ideas have never felt more urgent.

Tim Cohen, one of South Africa’s most respected financial journalists and former Business Maverick editor, returns to Louw’s ideas and brings us a new book, Leon Louw: A Legacy of Solutions, a deeply researched biography from Maverick 451 that asks (and answers) a simple but provocative question: what if the answers were there all along?

Read the introduction to Leon Louw: A Legacy of Solutions here

For this book, Cohen spent hours with Louw, capturing the man behind the ideas. The result is not just a story about one man’s crusade for economic freedom (though there is plenty of that), but a revealing portrait of a libertarian, and a detailed account of the fragile architecture of liberty and accountability in a country that often forgets how hard-won both were.

Buy Leon Louw: A Legacy of Solutions here

Cohen’s writing captures the contradictions, the courage and the stubborn optimism that defined Louw’s life – from his battles against apartheid-era property laws, to his fierce defence of informal traders’ rights.

“Leon’s insights serve as a reminder that sometimes the most effective solutions are the ones that seem almost too simple to be true” – Busisiwe Mavuso

For policymakers, political thinkers and anyone who cares about South Africa’s future, this book is a call to think differently, to spur change and to learn from the past in order to reshape the longevity of this country’s economic future.

“Leon Louw’s life’s work is a powerful reminder that freedom is not just a theory – it’s a lived experience” – Paul Harris

Come and meet Leon and Tim in person as they unpack the ideas behind A Legacy of Solutions – and why those ideas still have bite.

• Johannesburg: 27 January, Exclusive Books Sandton | 18h00 for 18h30 – RSVP
• Cape Town: 29 January, Exclusive Books V&A Waterfront | 18h00 for 18h30 – RSVP
• Nelson Mandela Bay: 2 February, Exclusive Books Walmer Park | 18h00 for 18h30 – RSVP

If you can’t make it in person, don’t worry – watch the webinar on 22 January and catch Leon and Tim in conversation with Dr Iraj Abedian online. Register here.

Join Tim Cohen, Leon Louw and esteemed economist Dr Iraj Abedian on 22 January at 12pm for a live, no-holds-barred conversation about what worked, what didn’t and what still might for a better South Africa.

This is more than a book. It’s an invitation to see South Africa differently, to understand the ideas that shaped the nation, and to engage with solutions that still matter today.

• For interviews and extracts contact Ingrid Sinclair: ingrid@dailymaverick.co.za
• To order directly from the Daily Maverick Shop: click this link or email order@dailymaverick.co.za
• To order from our distributors: orders@proteadistribution.co.za

About Tim Cohen:

Tim Cohen, currently senior editor on Currencynews.co.za, is a veteran South African journalist whose career spans the internal insurrection of the late 1980s, the transition to democracy and the subsequent politics and finance of South Africa and beyond.

About Leon Louw:

Leon Louw is an author and policy and economic adviser and the founder and CEO of the Freedom Foundation & Izwe Lami. He is cofounder and former executive director of the Free Market Foundation.

About Maverick 451:

In 2019, Daily Maverick published its 10th anniversary book, We have A Game Changer. It turns out the title was a self-fulfilling prophecy because self-publishing this project was indeed a game-changer and the birth of Maverick 451, Daily Maverick’s book-publishing division.

We publish high-calibre non-fiction books, from standout biographies and political analysis, to business and children’s non-fiction. Whatever the subject, we want to publish books that are meaningful and add unique value to Daily Maverick readers and the wider South African audience. DM