The Political Economy of Social Control in Singapore (St Antony's Series)

`The thesis presented here will not only change the way in which we understand contemporary Singaporean society and the relationship between the state and its citizens, but will also provoke a debate about the social costs of economic development in other parts of the world, and the future security of the island republic - increasingly a Chinese enclave in a Malay sea - in the twenty-first century.' - Peter Carey, Trinity College, Oxford This study examines the development of Singapore's complex system of social regulation in relation to the phases of its economic strategy and political transition. It focuses on the way social control works through public housing and welfare, education, parliamentary politics and the law. It draws out the implications of such comprehensive control for political conflict. Popular explanations for Singapore's success and its status as a model for other developing countries are brought into question. Singapore's rapid economic growth has attracted much admiration. But can this success be sufficiently explained by canny exploitation of a niche in the global free market? This book shows that there is a complex relationship between economic strategy, social control and political conflict in Singapore. It does this by looking at the regulatory functions of major state institutions. Public housing increases state control and forces people into wage labour even while supplying a high standard of accommodation. Singaporeans are sorted, stratified and fragmented by the education system. Racism and patriarchal relations, seen in language, population planning and eugenics policies, are integral to education. Elections and parliament in Singapore are mechanisms for forcing submission, converting submission into consent and confining politics to parliamentary politics. The legal system functions to criminalise politics and politicise crime. The findings of all the chapters are drawn together to show how the system of social control has developed in phases in response to the changing nature of political resistance. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction....Pages 1-5 Historical Origins....Pages 6-29 Singapore’s Political Economy....Pages 30-44 Public Housing: The Working-class Barracks....Pages 45-73 Educating for Submission....Pages 74-108 The New Education System....Pages 109-151 Parliament, Elections and Parties....Pages 152-186 The Law, Coercion and Terror....Pages 187-227 Conclusion....Pages 228-234 Back Matter....Pages 235-252 Examines the development of Singapore's complex system of social regulation in relation to the phases of its economic strategy and political transition. This book focuses on the way social control works through public housing and welfare, education, parliamentary politics and law.