I understand the attraction of what looks like a stable, prosperous city-state. If a utopia is to include freedom of thought and speech, though, Singapore is not a model. I recommend reading the book "Spin Dictators," by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, to get an understanding of how Lee initially shut down press freedoms, limited prot…
I understand the attraction of what looks like a stable, prosperous city-state. If a utopia is to include freedom of thought and speech, though, Singapore is not a model. I recommend reading the book "Spin Dictators," by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, to get an understanding of how Lee initially shut down press freedoms, limited protests, and made sure to crack down on unions in order to achieve his goals.
From the preface: "Instead of terrorizing citizens, a skillful ruler can control them by reshaping their beliefs about the world. He can fool people into compliance and even enthusiastic approval. In place of harsh repression, the new dictators manipulate information."
Technocrats can achieve plenty if they pose a high cost to opposition and tightly control media narratives, and a balanced view would have to include many more perspectives aside Lee's own book.
Yes, I understand that freedom of speech is a biggie, and certainly something that I think is essential to a utopia. But I think it's possible to learn from the good things other countries are doing, while avoiding the bad things other countries are doing. And Singapore is doing a few things right, not just according to Lee, but according to international organizations.
I understand the attraction of what looks like a stable, prosperous city-state. If a utopia is to include freedom of thought and speech, though, Singapore is not a model. I recommend reading the book "Spin Dictators," by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, to get an understanding of how Lee initially shut down press freedoms, limited protests, and made sure to crack down on unions in order to achieve his goals.
From the preface: "Instead of terrorizing citizens, a skillful ruler can control them by reshaping their beliefs about the world. He can fool people into compliance and even enthusiastic approval. In place of harsh repression, the new dictators manipulate information."
Technocrats can achieve plenty if they pose a high cost to opposition and tightly control media narratives, and a balanced view would have to include many more perspectives aside Lee's own book.
Yes, I understand that freedom of speech is a biggie, and certainly something that I think is essential to a utopia. But I think it's possible to learn from the good things other countries are doing, while avoiding the bad things other countries are doing. And Singapore is doing a few things right, not just according to Lee, but according to international organizations.