Hard choices : challenging the Singapore consensus / Donald Low and Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, with contributions from Linda Lim and Thum Ping Tjin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Low, Donald, 1973- author.

Vadaketh, Sudhir Thomas, author.

Lim, Linda, author.

Thum, Pingtjin, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political planning--Singapore.

Political planning.

Singapore--Politics and government.

Singapore.

Politics and government.

Political science.

Physical Description:

xviii, 233 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Singapore : NUS Press, [2014]

Summary:

The Singapore polity is changing-profoundly and probably irrevocably. The consensus that the PAP government constructed and maintained over five decades is fraying. The assumptions that underpin Singaporean exceptionalism are no longer accepted as easily and readily as before. Among these are the ideas that the country is uniquely vulnerable, that this vulnerability limits its policy and political options, that good governance demands a degree of political consensus that ordinary democratic arrangements cannot ensure, and that the country's success requires a competitive meritocracy accompanied by relatively little income or wealth redistribution. But the policy and political conundrums that Singapore faces today are complex and defy easy answers. Confronted with a more critical and sceptical public and an increasingly contested political landscape, how will politics and policymaking in Singapore evolve? What reforms should the government pursue? This collection of essays suggests that a far-reaching and radical rethinking of the country's policies and institutions is necessary, even if it weakens the very consensus that enabled Singapore to succeed in its first 50 years. Book jacket.

Contents:

I The Limits of Singapore Exceptionalism

1 The Four Myths of Inequality in Singapore / Donald Low Low, Donald 17

2 How Land and People Fit Together in Singapore's Economy / Linda Lim Lim, Linda 31

3 Economic Myths in the Great Population Debate / Donald Low Low, Donald, Yeoh Lam Keong Keong, Yeoh Lam, Tan Kim Song Song, Tan Kim, Manu Bhaskaran Bhaskaran, Manu 40

4 Good Meritocracy, Bad Meritocracy / Donald Low Low, Donald 48

5 The End of Identity? / Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh Vadaketh, Sudhir Thomas 59

II Policy Alternatives for Post-Consensus Singapore

6 What's Wrong with Singaporeans? / Linda Lim Lim, Linda 79

7 Adapting to our Population Challenges / Donald Low Low, Donald 97

8 Rethinking Singapore's Housing Policies / Donald Low Low, Donald 104

9 Beware the Inequality Trap / Donald Low Low, Donald, Yeoh Lam Keong Keong, Yeoh Lam 113

10 New Options in Social Security / Donald Low Low, Donald 120

III Governance and Democracy: Past, Present & Future

11 The Old Normal is the New Normal / Thum Ping Tjin Tjin, Thum Ping 139

12 What Went Wrong for the PAP in 2011 / Donald Low Low, Donald 168

13 Governing in the New Normal / Donald Low Low, Donald 178

14 The Future of Democracy in Singapore / Sudhir Thomas Vadaheth Vadaheth, Sudhir Thomas 188

15 Liberal Ideas in the New Normal / Donald Low Low, Donald 209.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9789971698164

9971698161

OCLC:

871013072