So I’ve finished reading “Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going” by LKY (already). A fascinating insight into an exemplary statesman, one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century. That’s not to say his leadership style was w/o flaws. Let me address the flaws then the lessons.

First of all, his authoritarian style. His argument, that liberal democracy, is not universally applicable, may have a lot of merit. Liberal democracy is an overwhelmingly western construct after all made to suit a western culture. Whenever it has been ‘spread’ to other nations..

...it has often ended in dysfunctional, corrupt institutions (see Iraq after the war). In many cases it has not been long-lasting (e.g. Hungary, Poland, Russia after the fall of the USSR, arguably the rise of right-wing populism in the west today).

In particular, his thinking emphasised the need to defend Singapore from external & internal threats to its existence - back when it split from Malaysia, a small island. Such thinking justified his restrictions on civil/political liberties.

But if liberal democracy is not universally applicable, surely the alternatives are not universally applicable too? Much of the foundations of America’s success were grounded upon the very notions he opposes after all: https://twitter.com/macroeu/status/1297953319416193024?s=21

One thing in particular where Singapore restricts political freedoms is freedom of the press. In the West, the press is largely given free reign to report on matters as they please, w/o regard for the facts. The result: Fox News, the Murdoch tabloids, & so on.

We all know (at least my followers) the extent to which they hold ransom over our political processes. We all know the extent to which they ignite hate, disinformation, bigotry, xenophobia. To what extent should we put up with that any further?

After all, as Angela Merkel said, freedom of expression has its limits, and when those limits of hate are breached, we would be failing in our duties as responsible citizens of a diverse society to let intolerance go unchallenged. So why not hold the press to the same standards?

Why not have tougher regulation of the press r.e. disinformation (and as #COVID19 shows, the cost of disinformation is often paid in lies)? At the very least, in the UK we should embark on #leveson2, in the US the fairness doctrine should be reinstated.

Another area where Singapore restricts political liberties are strikes & protests. The only place designated for protests is Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park. This is where I have doubts; after all #blacklivesmatter rose to prominence bcs of strong grassroots protests.

Ditto the other major movements towards social justice in history - often a result of grassroots activism. This is where my disagreements start to come in. You shouldn’t need a licence to protest.

More generally, freedom of expression, whilst not w/o it’s limits & downsides, is a very powerful tool to sort out the good ideas from the bad, formulate new ideas, etc. It’s integral to innovation, entrepreneurship, academia, scientific discoveries, I could go on

As far as possible, freedom of expression should be maintained, regardless of how inconvenient it is for the gov in power. Our tech advancements, the Englightenment, relies on that. Worth noting that the regimes that’ve not had this but made notable scientific advancements...

...(e.g. the USSR, China) have often used knowledge acquired in the West! Freedom of expression has its limits (hate speech, disinformation, threats to national-security/terrorism), but in general it’s a fundamental concept behind our success.

Now to turn to the benefits. First of all, he fostered a largely meritocratic structure behind Singapore’s institutions. The ruling party would actively seek the most talented across all professions to enter government & the ministry. Surely that’s a good thing?

In fact, to be elligible to run for President there, you have to fulfill very stringent criteria (such as integrity, experience in gov or a large corporation, etc...). You have to have a record of success in your professional life.

This thread is turning out to be longer than expected. I’ll return to it tomorrow