Hard Choices: Challenging the Singapore Consensus - Softcover

Low, Donald; Vadaketh, Sudhir Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9971698161 ISBN 13: 9789971698164

Publisher: NUS Press, 2014

Synopsis

Singapore is changing. The consensus that the PAP government has 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 produce, 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 political landscape that is likely to become more contested, how should the government respond? What reforms should it 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.

About this title

About the Author

Donald Low is Associate Dean for executive education and research at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Edition details

• Publisher: NUS Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9971698161
• ISBN 13: 9789971698164
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256