TO understand South Africa today, we need to recognise that people can focus endlessly on a country’s problems but still live in a state of denial. STEVEN FRIEDMAN, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg Hand-wringing about problems which are said to spell the doom of South Africa’s negotiated democracy is a well-established custom. It began only months after the first election in which all adults could vote in 1994. It has become louder over the past decade and dominates the national debate, which is the preserve of the minority who enjoy access to media. Right now, violence in the…