Prof. Koh is airing his left-wing sensibilities again and I'm really rather perplexed how internally conflicting his observations are (not only in this case).
So, apparently Singapore (i.e. Singaporeans) is snobbish and looks down on poor people - as if there was some nobility to be found in poverty (a common trope in the West, typically voiced by the champagne socialist class). It is also, allegedly, unequal and should follow models set by by countries like those in the Nordics or Switzerland (these comparisons are already a boring cliché, to be honest).
At the same time prof. Koh cheers the wonderful achievements of Singapore and its current living standards as compared to what he remembers from his youth.
So, I believe we should ask - how exactly has it arrived at this point? Certainly not by doing things that way older and wealthier European economies have.
When prof. Koh mentions the Nordics, is he aware that there are currently 1 million people waiting for a permit to rent an long-term apartment in Stockholm and other cities, with queues extending 15 to 25 years into the future in some cases? And that it is impossible to rent any apartment over 1 year, meaning that millions of people are forced to move every 12 months until they finally qualify? Does he mention crime rates or ethnic ghettoes - putting on display the catastrophically failed immigration and "diversity" policies, creating a state of quasi-apartheid that divides the societies in the northern Europe? Does he mention 100+ or so annual grenade attacks across Sweden?
What about living costs? Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland are among the most indebted OECD countries by household debt - i.e. people rely on borrowing to finance their lives due to exorbitant living expenses.
Swedish GDP per capita is 15% lower in nominal terms vs. Singapore but over 50% when adjusted for purchasing power parity. The highest ranking Switzerland is above SG in nominal terms but drops to -35% when we consider the price levels.
And unsurprisingly so, what anybody who travelled around Europe can confirm. An equivalent of Singapore's ubiquitous cai fan stalls is nowhere to be found in countries where a Big Mac will set you back S$10.
On paper more people make, on average, more money - but they also pay A LOT more for everything. Swiss healthcare is among the world's most expensive in the world, on par with the USA. Crime is higher, affordable public housing is just an aid program for the selected poorest few and each country is already carrying both public and private debt burden far higher than SG does.
So, where is this equality prof. Koh is talking about? Is it not equality in misery, if anything? (relatively speaking, at least)
But, in a broader sense, I just don't get these constant assaults on wealth, the wealthy and materialism. Yes, at the extreme end it may be as disgusting as any excess - but is it really excess we're talking about here?Look, nobody wants to be a cleaner, nobody wants to be scraping toilets and nobody wants their children to either. And no amount of grandstanding will change that. Everybody wants to have doctors, bankers, lawyers or maverick entrepreneurs in their family.
It's not snobbish - it's rational.
But even for the society - or human race as a whole - we need more people to deliver more value if we are to progress. And this value is most commonly represented by generated and accumulated wealth - production of which is a result of creativity.
It is unhealthy, of course, if wealth is your only driver - but it remains one of the most important ones. Denying that, particularly if you're not the sort of a person living paycheck to paycheck, is just hypocritical.Moreover - if we generate enough value we are likely to automate all of those physical jobs that prof. Koh is referring to. We don't do it yet because it's still cheaper to find someone to perform them - but, frankly speaking, it's just a waste of brainpower (and human life). And then those people who are, allegedly, looked down upon, will disappear, forced upwards into newer, better paying professions, enjoying better living standards themselves.
It does not require a government decree but economic progress. This is how we got to where we are now in the first place.The real snobbery is found among those already enjoying wealth but distancing themselves from it to highlight their moral superiority.
