Is Singapore gonna be the next banana republic state? In a Banana republic where its everyman for himself, u don't need a bomb to kill anyone, just a simple disruption like traffic lights breakdown and these uncivilized barbarians (economic elites in SG who can afford exorbitantly priced COEs), its everyman for himself as each tries to bulldoze his way through, ultimately, they kill themselves in the stampede that soon follows... http://singapore.coconuts.co/2016/1...rs-turn-kiasu-after-traffic-lights-glitch-out Could self-serving PAP (ivory tower) leadership be leading Singapore towards a state of self-destruction/ civil war?... Deploying sock puppets (banana legislators) to speak as trained(whipped) to do: promoting self/ sectarian interest of the elites over that of the public good?: "If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister's ideas and proposals. Hence, a reasonable payout will help to maintain a bit of dignity." - MP Lim Wee Kiak apologises for comments on pay [IMG URL] Introducing the GRC system of elections to facilitate sock puppet installation: 'Without some assurance of a good chance of winning at least their first election, many able and successful young Singaporeans may not risk their careers to join politics,' Mr Goh Chok Tong, June 2006 ['GRCs make it easier to find top talent: SM']. [Pict= Disassembling GRC system benefits PAP (Part 1 of 3)] fixing opposition parties; actually just creating an authoritarian, monolithic political state, with little or no political vibrancy/choice... (YouTube; LHL: "fix the opposition") Bending election rules and deployment of the AGC to do one's dirty work of forcing more skeletons into the closet?: (Pict source) Anyhow: In a Banana Republic of Singapore, foreigners and the state junta own more of the resources and opportunities than the citizens themselves have access to... The big question is where are we now... Banana republic In political science, the term banana republic is a pejorative descriptor for a servile dictatorship that abets or supports, for kickbacks, the exploitation of large-scale plantation agriculture, especially banana cultivation.[2] More generally, it is a derogatory term for a country that is considered to have a weak economy, a dishonest or cruel government, and public services that do not work.[11] In economics, a banana republic is a country operated as a commercial enterprise for private profit, effected by a collusion between the State and favored monopolies, in which the profit derived from the private exploitation of public lands is private property, while the debts incurred thereby are a public responsibility. Such an imbalanced economy remains limited by the uneven economic development of town and country, and tends to cause the national currency to become devalued paper-money, rendering the country ineligible for international-development credit.[12] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic
Singapore is as good as Hong Kong or South Korea in economic terms. But its political system is autocratic and there is less political freedom. Some say that the state-controlled economy in Singapore is the key to its economic success and Japan used to be that way under the LDP's one-party rule. I think the Asian Tigers are copying the Japanese model.
What u say about military style government is correct: they are able to get things up and moving very fast but in the long term, though hard like porcelain (hirechical and lack of discursive intellectual thought), when placed under the right impact, shatter into 1000 pieces as their constituents scatter like ants (e.g. USSR). Multiple human rights abuses have the tendency of getting covered up (swept under carpet) and they think that global warming is a hoax... That is why these pariah economies have the possibility of being just a flash in the pan, just a mirage: where the long journey of history is concerned that is. Current PM of Japan, Shinzo Abe is an LDP member. As far as the autocratic rule of Japanese leaders go, there is no better example I suppose than WW2: fueled by autocratic rule (then emperor's wife wanted to rule China iirc). Till recent times, they practised lifetime employment by just one company with one's colleagues probability being closer in relationship than one's spouse unless both worked for the same company. Maybe autocracy is a cultural thing, maybe some people just enjoy being subjected to slavery: this idea needs more exploration. Tks for writing anyway.
