Page 10 - Tiny Singapore News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Point on the planet. singapore has fully embraced globalization. and that's proved in their case very rewarding. >> donald: singapore is an outsized economic port primarily because it's so attractive to foreign entrepreneurs primarily in the form of multinational corporations. so right from the start, the economic strategy was always to attract foreign capital. >> anthony: donald low is an economist who spent over ten years researching and writing about singapore's unique financial policies. >> donald: you know, this place is almost contrary to the founders' original expectations. this place w...

And progressives have just gone so far ahead, including myself. because sometimes, we need a reality check about what pace society can move at. so i think that's the tension, it's that economic growth has happened so quickly and sometimes, social laws, social customs, might need to take a bit more time. >> anthony: you know, a place where everything works this well and a system so seemingly different than the one we are taught to venerate, that's genuinely confusing. so what's the best thing about singapore and what's the worst thing about singapore? >> sudhir: i think best things are toleranc...

For not only a livelier debate, it would make for a better debate. we may well arrive at the conclusion that the current dispensation of the current order represents the best possible society for singapore. but let's have that debate. >> anthony: i mean, it's a horrifying thought, "what if?" >> donald: it's possible that the human mind, that the average citizen, cannot deal with that much diversity, that we need these curbs or restrictions on our freedom. >> anthony: what if free speech is like bad? >> donald: it's like a drug, right? it's too much of a good thing.

Have to follow the rules and regulations, that's the reason singapore is very good. same time, singaporeans are very hard working. as human beings, what we need? food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to sleep, you can get in singapore. so in other words, we have to continue work, you see. if you're working, you'll get something, once lazy, you're out. >> anthony: by some measures, singapore is a welfare state, taking care of the less fortunate, but at its heart, it's a cold blooded meritocracy. you follow the rules -- and there are many, work hard, and you will have a good life. that's the mes...

>> anthony: a lot of social engineering has been superimposed to hold that together, and i think what a lot of westerners who come to singapore come here skeptical are often reluctantly holding to the inescapable conclusion that it seems to work. >> donald: it seems to work. but of course, the post independence singapore government has been often accused of being extremely keen and extremely competent at social engineering. of course, the most powerful instrument of social engineering is public housing. you know, before, singaporeans, a large majority of singaporeans, more than 80% of them to ...