Outside in » Singapore

Quote note (#142)

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 17:49:01 +0000

To add to the ledger of Singapore as a redoubt (no doubt beleaguered) of Neoreactionary insight, an opinion piece in the most recent Straits Times begins:

China’s rise has been psychologically disquieting to many in America and the West generally, because in China, capitalism flourishes without liberal democracy. This is regarded as somehow unnatural and illegitimate because it punctures the Western myth of the universality of certain political values and of the inevitability of the development of certain political forms. And unlike, say, Japan or India, China only wants to be China and not an honorary member of the West.

The myth of universality is ahistorical, pretentious and parochial.

It is ahistorical because it ignores the inconvenient fact that every Western country was capitalist long before it was either liberal or democratic as those terms are today understood …

… much sanity follows.

Club 333

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 10:06:30 +0000

… is already a thing:

(This spotted in Singapore’s Little India.)

Singapore

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 14:35:13 +0000

No one really denies that Singapore is the most functional society on earth, which is interesting in itself. Everything works here (even multiculturalism (of which they have the superior Confucian hegemony version, rather than the ethno-masochistic late-Christian fiasco)). Practical civilization reaches its zenith in the orchid zone of the Singapore botanic gardens, or somewhere close to it. This drives a lot of people — even those who profoundly admire the place — into a sulfurous rage.

No one likes an apple-polisher of Gnon (or scarcely anyone, I’m exempting myself, along with a few others). By demonstrating social functionality, Singapore makes everyone look bad, which doesn’t go down well. The Sings make us all look like useless scum. Yes, there is that.

Conversation snippets:

“How much crime is there in Singapore?”
“Not much. I saw a sign saying ‘Warning! Five bicycles have been stolen from this area in the last three years.’ People were leaving them there unlocked.”

“I’ve known a lot of Singaporeans, but I’ve never really had a Singaporean friend. … If you’re used to going out on a Friday night, getting hammered, and waking up in the morning feeling like crap, it’s hard. No one does that here. The Singaporeans are sensible all the freaking time …”

The stairwell door to the apartment where we’re staying has a biometric identification system (plus two redundant human security guards).

The demographic problem — I’m increasingly convinced — is hugely about education costs (in money and time). It’s k-selection catastrophe. That’s a can to be kicked down the road for the time being, though, because no one has a solid solution to offer right now. Mentioned here because it’s deep, highly general, and the only criticism of Singapore that deserves to be taken remotely seriously.

3.5 million citizens, and 1.5 million permanent residents. (‘PRs’ are obligated to do national military service.)

I’ll try to update this further (and if I was Singaporean I’d almost certainly deliver).