|
|
楼主 |
发表于 2015-3-24 12:19:01
|
显示全部楼层
We are beginning to drift away from the topic, but let it be…
1. LKY was not a dictator, but he governed with a strong arm & mental will, without which Singapore would be in shambles. LKY freely admitted this & I tend to agree.
In the mid 60’s when Malaya (not yet called Malaysia, I think) “forced” Singapore to be separated, everybody thought Singapore was doomed to fail, then Singapore will be on its knees begging to be accepted into the Malaya family.
Ever since its independence from British colonial rule, LKY wanted Singapore to be part of Malaya, but Tungu Abdul Rahman (check spelling) didn’t want LKY/Singapore for fear of a mainly ethnic Chinese population which will upset the social mix/structure.
LKY was heart-broken, devastated & he announced the breakup in an emotionally charged speech.
Geographically, Singapore is smaller than HK, with no natural resources, including fresh water supply, with a population with a high degree of illiteracy + strong labour union activities, nobody gave LKY much chance of success.
Anyway, LKY and PAP (at that time, quite a # of members had communist inclinations) maneuvered and was democratically elected. LKY & PAP subsequently won ALL democratic elections.
With this social backdrop, LKY must rule with a strong arm to give Singapore a chance to survive.
So, stop kidding ourselves that Singapore was independent “with a silver spoon in its mouth”.
2. This brings us to the next question, will democracy work everywhere? My blunt answer is NFW (No Fucking Way), only the Americans are naïve enough to try to export democracy all over the world, e.g. Afghanistan, Iraq.
In order for democracy to work, the general public, particularly the voters must all reach a certain level of education. The voters must understand and distinguish issues at hand, must treasure their votes which are “sacred”. One-person-one-vote which is the basis of democracy will never work when there is such a disparity of education level.
Look at it this way, a homeless person with no education gets one vote, while a university professor also gets one vote, is it a fair system?
Let us look at a hypothetical situation, if we all “gang up” and vote an uneducated, homeless person into office, will he be able to govern better than a university professor??
When there is education disparity in the society, one-person-one-vote democracy is a recipe for disaster.
|
|
发表于 2015-3-22 15:59:34
