From rags to riches: how an economic miracle happened in Singapore. Singapore economic miracle close up Development of Singapore over 20 years

If you ask enlightened citizens who, in their opinion, is the best politician in Asia, nine out of ten will say: - Well, of course, Lee Kuan Yew! Lee Kuan Yew is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. He is praised by politicians and journalists. Politicians and journalists admire him. Politicians and journalists use him as an example for Russia. Politicians and journalists attribute all of Singapore's economic successes to him.

Meanwhile, there is a different opinion on all this. Here's what they write about Singapore:

“In terms of the composition of the population, indeed, even now the Chinese make up a significant percentage of the population - around 77% - and indeed modern Singapore was built on their workaholism and diligence. But the main thing is by what methods and restrictions this was achieved, how the whole was deprived of its usual life generation of residents of the port city. This can be called a successful experiment, now Singapore occupies a leading place in the world economy - but it was carried out on real people, which seems terrifying. It is enough to talk to any of the taxi drivers over 60 to understand how much they do not encourage the policies of the ruling party and LKYU himself in the past...

In general, you can think a lot about the structure of Singapore; in our time it is truly an advanced civilization. Perhaps some prototype of the civilization of the future. A brilliant invention by LKYu and his associates. Their model looks very viable and promising, but unfortunately it does not allow a person to feel like he belongs and be confident in the future. This model is only capable of using a person, squeezing all the juice out of him and sending him back home."

Let's take a look at this point of view:

Tales of the glorious hero of the land of Singapore.

The official mythology of this island city-state says: Singapore, after gaining independence from the British colonialists in 1965, was in a terrible situation: Singaporeans lived very poorly, suffered from lack of rights, suffered from rampant corruption and the mafia. But the Singaporean people are very lucky. His government was headed by the most effective statesman of all time, the most magnificent manager, the most excellent manager the human race has ever known, the one and only Lee Kuan Yew. He and his like-minded people managed to create a true miracle: in just 20 years, transform a poor and backward a hole into a prosperous first world state with an efficient economy and an almost complete absence of corruption, a legal system providing for the equality of all before the law and the court, and equal rights for all residents of the island. And looking at such amazing successes, the rest of humanity simply gasped with overwhelming delight; which is not surprising.

As the unforgettable Goebbels said, “the more monstrous the lie, the more willingly they believe in it.” And the shining “Singapore economic miracle” simply brilliantly confirms the words of the Minister of Propaganda of the Third Reich. For individuals accustomed to perceiving reality exclusively through external form, Singapore really makes a depressing impression: glass skyscrapers “piercing” the sky, gilded fountains, almost sterile sidewalks, homeless people do not wander the streets... But on the island there are no oil wells or gas deposits, no deposits of precious metals, not diamond copies. But, nevertheless, even being completely devoid of mineral resources, the metropolis provided a hitherto unprecedented “breakthrough.”

And isn’t Lee Kuan Yew a true genius, since he managed to build such a “candy” from scratch? And Lee Kuan Yew recalls in detail in his book “Singapore History: From the Third World to the First” how much hard work the first Prime Minister of independent Singapore and his team were able to achieve such a rapid economic “take-off”. “I wrote this book for young Singaporeans who take social stability, economic growth and prosperity for granted. I wanted them to know how difficult it was for a small country with a territory of 640 sq. km to survive without any or natural resources, surrounded by large, newly independent states pursuing nationalist policies.Those who were burned by the war in 1942, who survived the Japanese occupation of Singapore, who participated in the creation of the new economy of Singapore, take a much more realistic view of things.

We cannot afford to forget that public order, personal security, economic and social progress and prosperity do not arise by themselves, but are the result of continuous effort and constant attention on the part of an honest and effective government elected by the people,” laments the “wretch” in the preface. ex-prime minister to his "difficult" prime ministerial youth. Many still believe in this nonsense. For Lee Kuan Yew and his henchmen are excellent psychologists who perfectly know how to manipulate others. But fortunately, in recent years more and more sensible people have appeared ( including in Singapore itself), for whom mass duping no longer works...

The natural basis of the "Singapore miracle".

The reality is somewhat more prosaic than is commonly believed. Contrary to myths, the efficiency of the Singaporean economy is still ensured by Mother Nature, and not by the economic genius of our dear Lee Kuan Yew. With the difference that this economic “titanium” does not exploit hydrocarbons, like Norway, the Russian Federation and the Gulf countries, but a good location : The island is located at the crossroads of the most important economic routes between Asia and Australia. Simply put, through Singapore and several other neighboring countries, there is a continuous trade and financial “flow”, which makes this region extremely profitable for doing business: especially transport and banking, as well as the creation of the necessary infrastructure; which was the reason for attracting foreign investment here.

For the greatest effect, the authorities of a country with such a convenient geography and a population of only five million people could only reduce taxes as much as possible and simplify the registration of commercial organizations as much as possible; which, in fact, is what they did. And how Singapore's strategic location contributed to its "rise" is beautifully illustrated in the book The Singapore Miracle: Myth and Reality. Its author, the famous Australian researcher Rodney King (not to be confused with the American horror author Stephen King), knows what he is writing about; he lived in Singapore and, being an excellent economic analyst, easily figured out what was what. Mr. King's work, despite its considerable volume, is built on the simplest logical analysis, allowing even a non-specialist to see that the services of the first Singaporean prime minister to the island republic are somewhat exaggerated: the city would have become a thriving business center even without Lee Kuan Yew. Any educated statesman on his location, would also be able to use the favorable geographical factor to attract foreign investment, “covering” the tropical territory with high-rise buildings of business centers. Moreover, such a resource is even more convenient and profitable than diamonds and gas and oil: the latter, before being sold, must first be extracted from the depths, and before extraction, it is necessary to purchase the necessary equipment and transport.

And with an attractive geography, you don’t even have to invest your own money - foreign men and women will come and build everything. They will pay taxes to the budget and create more jobs for the local population. And this, in turn, will also mean new revenues to the treasury and an increase in the consumption of goods and, ultimately, a rapid “surge” in economic life... But even despite such a head start, contrary to widespread myths, Singapore is by no means the most powerful “Asian tiger". Rodney specifically reports that labor productivity in Singapore is lower than that of Hong Kong. In his opinion, "In fact, Singapore is a dependent and underdeveloped economy." Yes Yes. The praised, over-praised Singapore is significantly inferior to Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea! Moreover, after independence the city was not so impoverished. It was the largest port in Asia, with advanced infrastructure at that time; built by British colonialists for their economic needs. And for the sake of historical justice, let’s open the encyclopedic dictionary of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1955, where it is said about Singapore. "The largest trading center and port in Southeast Asia. Export of rubber, tin, rice, copra, spices.

Large tin smelters, machine-building and ship repair enterprises. English naval and air bases.” Therefore, when Lee Kuan Yew complains about what a hopeless hole he got and how poor he had to suffer in the prime minister’s post “raising” it, he is mistaken. Well, not out of malice, of course, but simply forgot. I forgot that Singapore was a developed state even under the British colonialists and at that time lived better than most Asian states!

Corruption of "not corrupt" Singapore.

Despite his venerable age, Singapore's first prime minister has been cheerfully ringing about the premature "death" of corruption on the island since the days of his premiership. “Corruption has been one of the features of our Asian image,” writes Lee Kuan Yew in The Singapore Story. “We decided to focus the attention of the CBK (Corruption Investigation Bureau; note by the author of the article) on large bribe-takers in the highest echelons of power. We intended to fight the small fry by simplifying decision-making procedures, issuing clear and simple rules, up to the cancellation of permits and licensing in less important spheres of public life... In 1960, we amended the outdated Anti-Corruption Law, passed in 1937, and expanded the definition of a bribe to include any benefit of any value. laws gave broad powers to investigators, including searching, seizing, and investigating the bank accounts and bank records of suspects and their wives, children, and agents.

There was no longer any need to prove that the person who received the bribe actually had the opportunity to provide the required service. Tax inspectors were required to give out any information concerning the person under investigation. The existing law, which stated that the testimony of an accomplice was invalid unless confirmed by someone else, was changed to allow the judge to include the testimony of accomplices in the case,” the ex-prime minister explains all the intricacies of the anti-corruption fight. The population of the island republic and most of the residents planet Earth willingly believe the statements of the cunning Lee: in terms of low corruption, authoritative rating agencies place the city-state in third place in the world after the Scandinavian countries.But the people heading these structures, it seems, like the author of this article, have serious vision problems and are unable take a good look at the current Prime Minister of Singapore - Lee Hsien Loong, who is not just anyone, but Lee Kuan Yew's own son! The island "miracle worker" simply "seated" his own son in the prime minister's chair, which he once occupied himself; although in In Scandinavia, this is simply impossible, even theoretically: more than one Norwegian, Danish or Finnish prime minister would once have been unable to “attach” his beloved offspring to the state “feeding trough”. And in a “non-corrupt” Singapore - no problem. In terms of nepotism, family-clan Singapore is not next to Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, but right next to Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Russia. Although, perhaps, even in our ultra-corrupt state, the prime minister would never have dared to so brazenly “secure” the premiership for his child.

Try to imagine that dear Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will put his eldest daughter in charge of the government. Despite his high popularity among Russians, he will still be accused of abuse of office. And in the West, a politician who indulges in such “pranks” will also quickly be sent to places not so remote. The vaunted Singapore is more reminiscent of North Korea, where senior government positions are similarly handed down dynastically. But there, something like this happens only after the death of the leader: the “great helmsman” of the socialist construction project, Comrade Kim Jin Il, disappeared; his place was quickly taken by his son Kim Jin Un. And Lee Kuan Yew did everything while still alive... “We were disgusted by the greed, bribery and moral corruption of many Asian leaders. The freedom fighters of the oppressed peoples became robbers of their wealth, their states fell into decay.

We rode the crest of a revolutionary wave in Asia and were determined to get rid of colonial rule; but we also resented those nationalist Asian leaders whose failure to live up to their professed ideals disappointed us... Our struggle for clean, uncorrupted government had profound meaning. When we took the oath of office at City Hall in June 1959, we all wore white shirts and trousers, which was meant to symbolize the honesty and purity of our behavior in personal and public life." - Lee Kuan Yew writes about the extraordinary honesty of himself and his associates. Along the way , indignant about the "hard" lot of those Asian peoples who were not lucky with such "honest" leaders as he and his sidekicks. By "registering" a state for his son, the first Singaporean prime minister fully proved his exceptional honesty. With a little white shirt and pants...

Don't be a ruminant!

The island is famous for its strict prohibitions. The local leadership even managed to ban chewing gum: in the name of the people's good, of course. “The ban on chewing gum caused us a lot of ridicule in America,” admits Lee Kuan Yew in The Singapore Story. Here he was clearly being modest: they laughed heartily at him not only in the USA but also in other Western regions. Because not a single civilized community, not a single person, had the “wisest” idea of ​​criminalizing food: only this “outstanding reformer” could have thought of such a thing. Singaporean leaders have an explanation for this stupidity. If you please, chewing gum is extremely convenient to use for committing hooligan acts: hooligans continually inserted chewing gum into keyholes, mailboxes, elevator buttons, threw it on the floor, and then stuck it to their shoes. And, once, vandals stuck a rubber band on the door sensors of subway cars, causing a disruption in the movement of trains. No lawlessness, the island “benefactors” decided by banning chewing gum back in 1992. True, such an iron logic completely excludes the fact that plasticine can be “stuffed” into wells, boxes and elevators. It is also possible to make the floor sticky and disrupt the operation of the subway with the help of good glue. Following the position of Lee Kuan Yew, then it would be necessary to ban plasticine in association with adhesives.

To the question “How did you manage to overcome corruption?”, he answered “Start by imprisoning three of your friends. You know exactly why, and they know why.”

Big Brother in the media is watching you.

The “father of the Singaporean people” controls information life especially zealously. Local mass media show, tell and write only what the management wants. Particularly aging is Singapore's leading newspaper, the Straits Times, which regularly "sings psalms" to father and son. The organization Reporters Without Borders classifies the city as one of the countries with an extremely low degree of freedom of speech and media. And for good reason. For what happens to those who allow themselves to write obscene things is clearly demonstrated by the case of the British publicist Alan Shadrake. He is the author of a sensational book about the sickly abuses of the island's justice with the ironic title "Once upon a time a merry executioner - Singaporean justice in the dock." The competent authorities did not like Shedrake’s work very much and, as a result, he turned from a free person into a prisoner. The Western liberal establishment and human rights organizations - primarily Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch - instantly reared up with a well-founded position to leave the Englishman alone. However, the island's authorities decided differently... Lee Kuan Yew believes that independent press and television are not right, since they allow their owners to defend their narrow selfish interests.

The former prime minister gives examples of English and Chinese newspapers that defended British colonialists and Chinese speculators. That’s why the state needs to keep journalism strict. There is no doubt that sometimes the “fourth estate” is actually used for the above-mentioned task. A similar policy, for example, was pursued by the media controlled by Boris Abramovich Berezovsky. But this does not mean that all media outlets, without exception, do not work honestly. In any activity there are costs. But this is why publicity exists - even if it sometimes leads to abuse - to limit the arbitrariness of power. Lee Kuan Yew does not want to be limited. Therefore, the entire media community is painted with the same paint. If only there was a reason to keep the media on a “short leash”...

Cane discipline for males or those who do not have a good life on the island.

The island's constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women and equality of all before the law and the courts. Lee Kuan Yew - both in words and in his memoirs - swears and swears that in his city everyone is equal before the law and court. And everyone enjoys equal rights. Really? Alas. Despite constitutional provisions and Mr. Lee's assurances, Singaporean criminal law provides for sanctions based on your gender. For men, in addition to prison, there is also a “severe” spanking, which consists of striking the bare buttocks with a wooden stick: a woman cannot be “spanked” for any crime (sections 225-231 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Singapore). Simply put, Singapore has no qualms about sanctioning male discrimination. Singapore spanking usually results in bleeding wounds and subsequent scarring. A former Singaporean and currently a US citizen, Gopalan Nair, on his blog “Singapore Dissident,” posts a video of one such verdict of a convicted man (I recommend not watching for the faint of heart).

Male citizens and tourists face this punishment for harassment of women (women are allowed to harass men), robbery, drugs, weapons, illegal entry into the country, grand theft, expired visa and even graffiti... (about 30 crimes in total). The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch, in reports on human rights violations in Singapore, sometimes recalls men and boys who regularly become victims of the island's "gender equality". Especially if the man later turns out to be innocent. Moreover, the native judicial system does not favor the presumption of innocence: “...Singaporean justice is notorious for moving from accusation to punishment without going into the subtleties of legal evidence of guilt,” writes an American publicist in the book “My Life After Death” Robert Wilson. Lee Kuan Yew and other "big" bosses justify the presence of corporal punishment by the need to "contain crime" and "maintain order." Following their logic, it turns out that women are allowed to commit crimes and violate order similarly.

Some are allowed to do whatever they want, while others cannot. Mr. Lee doesn't seem to understand that a female criminal is no better than a male criminal. And a person who is not aware of such simple things is a great reformer in your opinion? Some conclusions need to be drawn. Despite the abundance of tall skyscrapers, Singapore is an ugly gender-racist entity that completely denies normal human institutions. The above-mentioned Gopalan Nair described his former homeland as follows: “...a stupid, cruel place run by bloodthirsty hooligans.” Couldn't have said it better...

To all those who sympathize with Lee Kuan Yew and consider him a “great reformer” from whom Russia should learn to live, I note that the gentlemen chose the wrong person as their idol. A person who:
1) Blatantly lies at every step, attributing to himself and his assistants all economic achievements, while they are determined only by successful geography.
2) He persecutes those who disagree with him, sending to prison the authors of books he does not like.
3) “Strangles” all the media, thereby depriving citizens of access to objective information.
4) They sanction discriminatory legislation under which you are flogged because you are a man. To all admirers of this man, I would like to note that you have chosen the wrong idol for yourself.

I will also note something special for Dmitry Anatolyevich, who was delighted with the external magnificent façade of Singapore - you need to learn to live from civilized Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong... And not from tyrants with discriminatory laws and prisons for undesirable writers and politicians. (Like Chee Soon Yuan, who received a prison sentence in Singapore for his opposition views).

Mikhail Chernykh, especially for Zastupnik.org

Did you click on the picture? Have you flown over Singapore?

Here are some comments on common myths about Singapore:

1. 3 million people live in Singapore. Mainly the Chinese, famous for their obedience. Lee Kuan Yew, the ruler of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, had virtually unlimited power there, which allowed him to create a “computer state”: an Orwellian totalitarian state. Singapore's island position contributed a lot to this.

The truth is, Lee Kuan Yew managed to create a state with a robot-like population that would live ideal lives and bring maximum returns to their state. In terms of population composition, indeed, even now the Chinese make up a significant percentage of the population - around 77% - and indeed modern Singapore was built on their workaholism and diligence. But the main thing is what methods and restrictions were used to achieve this, how an entire generation of residents of the port city was deprived of their usual life. This can be called a successful experiment; Singapore now occupies a leading position in the world economy - but it was carried out on living people, which seems terrifying. It is enough to talk with any of the taxi drivers over 60 to understand how much they do not encourage the policies of the ruling party and the LKYu itself in the past.
The thing about the state-computer is also true - the entire city is covered by video surveillance, the police are almost invisible on the street - only in especially dangerous places, for example in the subway. Everything that happens inside the country is under control, the border of the island is small - every centimeter can be controlled, every person is controlled in one way or another, snitching is encouraged in the country. Let's say, after littering on the street, a random passer-by can film you and send the photo to the police. I haven’t come across such situations myself, but I’ve heard of them. They say there are a lot of plainclothes officers walking the streets, and if you arouse suspicion, they may come check your documents. But in general, the police inspire trust, they communicate politely, do not provoke rudeness, and even in the event of a routine check, they will “serve” a tourist or a foreigner like a manager in a bank.

2. Singapore consists of three zones - tourist, economic and residential. Each zone is separated from the other by a border - an immaculate lawn five kilometers wide.

Regarding the lawn, of course, now this is not so noticeable, because the territory is increasingly being built up with new buildings, but as for the three zones, they really exist. There is an economic business zone - called the CBD, where all the major offices of banks and companies are concentrated, and indeed, there are no residential or tourist areas nearby. There is a tourist area - this is Sentosa Island or, for example, a zoo. In general, there is not one or two such zones, but as a rule there are no residential areas nearby, everything is done specifically for tourists. And there are sleeping quarters, of which there are a lot and they are really fenced off by lawns from each other - not 5 kilometers apart, but beautiful and large.

3. Violations of public order are severely punished. The fine for spitting on the ground is $500. The fine for smoking in public places is $500. Throwing away trash, such as a piece of paper - a fine of $500. The fine for leaving water in saucers under pots while watering flowers is $500 (water attracts mosquitoes).

Everything is correct here, Singapore is a city of fines, or as they say in English - fine city - which can be translated as both a beautiful city and a city of fines. Regarding the water in saucers under pots, once there was even a commission that selectively went from house to house and checked that there was no water in the saucers (maybe it still exists). This important rule helped the country get rid of epidemics of fever and malaria, because they practically got rid of mosquitoes. Indeed, in 1.5 years in Singapore, I have never been bitten by mosquitoes - their drainage systems and fines do an excellent job.

4. The number of cars in Singapore is artificially limited. To own a car, you must first buy a car permit at a special auction (the permit is issued for a period of 10 years). This permit will cost several tens of thousands of dollars. Then you need to buy the car itself, which is subject to an import duty of 41% of the cost. And finally, you need to pay a registration fee - 140% of the cost of the car. Thus, the purchase of, for example, a modest Toyota Corolla will cost no less than $100,000.

Absolutely true, except for the percentages. Time moves forward and the numbers have, of course, changed. But the essence remained the same - due to the size of the state, they were forced to introduce an artificial restriction of cars on the island, and in order to create a competent and convenient infrastructure, they also established significant taxes on imports and servicing. Therefore, a car in Singapore is for wealthy people.
But in fact, you don’t need a car there, city transport works very well, taxis are very affordable. Therefore, you don’t feel any discomfort from not having a car there.

5. If a dog barks at night, its vocal cords are cut. Men should always wear trousers, no matter how hot it is. Women should also always wear stockings, even if it is thirty-five degrees outside.

For a year and a half I have never heard a dog bark, neither day nor night - as well as the dogs themselves - very, very rarely and of very good breeds. Probably everyone has already been reset. But it looks like there was once a similar rule, it’s very much in the style of the LKY. As for clothing for men and women - it’s not so strict now, especially if you’re a newcomer - you can wear whatever you want, no one will reprimand you. But, again, when the island was turning from a port city into a financial center, people had to be forcibly dressed from whatever they could into trousers and stockings - even if it was +35 outside, so that Western people could see something similar to a civilized society. And now, of course, people are used to it, they understand everything themselves - especially with the arrival of large corporations. There is no such law anymore.

6. Each car is equipped with a built-in siren, which stuns the driver if he exceeds the speed of 80 km/h.

It seems to me that such a system should be installed in every car designed for use in urban environments. But I haven’t seen anything like this in Singapore; I used to take a taxi and drive at 100 km/h - there was no siren. Perhaps it used to be there to teach people to drive carefully.

7. After 18-00 it is forbidden to ride in a car alone. You must give rides to work colleagues or travel companions. Are you traveling alone? The fine is $500.

They say that there used to be such a rule when you were in the business district area. Now you can drive alone, the road system is well established and works very well without this rule. There is a toll road system, plus taxi drivers charge an additional fee for entering the business district area. In general, they beat this rule with money.

8. Every Singaporean driver is required to place a special sensor under the bottom of the car so that the police are always aware of all his movements. The police monitor traffic on special monitors. Pedestrians, when entering the house, are required to give their name to the security guard who is constantly on duty at the door. In addition, the entire city is flooded with video cameras.

Everything here is true. Only regarding the daktik under the bottom of the car - the concept has been slightly changed, the main purpose of this daktik is to pay for travel on toll roads. There are a lot of places in the city where travel at certain times is paid. This sensor allows you to automatically make payments, and of course control the movements of the car. And yes, the sensor these days is located on the front panel of the car, and not under the bottom.
It is indeed mandatory to give your name to the security guard. Especially in condominiums, this rule is still in effect, although it is not always observed.
As for video cameras, there are actually a lot of them in the city, especially near metro stations, road junctions and crowded places. And how much is still not visible is difficult to imagine.

9. Singapore is a democratic state. But so that citizens do not vote at random, the passport details of voters are indicated on the ballot papers.

10. Theft, violence, drugs, bribes are punishable by death by hanging. For lighter crimes, punishment is punishable by whipping. The laws also apply to tourists - in Singapore they regularly execute poor fellows who are careless enough to carry a small amount of drugs with them for personal use.

It’s absolutely true that the death penalty for drugs and weapons in Singapore is hanging. It is enough just to exceed the maximum permissible zone and that’s it, life is over. There were indeed cases when people from the Western world were executed, but they are rare. Mostly Asians who try to smuggle drugs across the border into Malaysia are executed. Every year there are several dozen cases.
For minor offenses they can be punished with a whip or blows with rods. Moreover, this is truly a painful sensation. Pumped-up comrades are doing this under 2 meters, putting all their power into every blow. They say that this skill is passed down from generation to generation; there are even entire dynasties.

11. The press is censored. Writing about sex and politics is prohibited.

It’s true, I would even say that you can only write about what they say or allow. You won’t see anything about any opposition or intrigue, scandals, investigations in Singapore newspapers. But sometimes, absolutely censored jokes about sex or politics slip through. Overall, these are very boring destinations in Singapore life.

12. To make Singaporeans smarter, Lee Kuan Yew took measures to encourage the right choice of partners. Men who marry women with higher education receive rewards. Women without a higher education degree who have a second child pay a fine. The illiterate are strongly encouraged to undergo sterilization in exchange for a significant amount of money.

Yes, that happened. LKYu even arranged a public speech on this matter - which was met with ambiguity, but such an experience was put above the peoples. As a result, this policy has led to the fact that there is now a critical decline in the birth rate in Singapore and the state plans to make up for population losses at the expense of visiting emigrants. Either there were few women with higher education, or they no longer planned to get married after receiving their education.
In general, now marriage in Singapore is associated with the joint purchase of a home, and not as a love union with the goal of having a family. People get married because they simply have nowhere to live.

13. Two children per family is considered optimal. Therefore, in the evenings, police call families who already have two children and remind them to take a birth control pill and use a condom.

I have not encountered this, but it is quite possible, based on the policy of the LKY to encourage the correct choice of partners and a penalty for the second child.

In general, you can think a lot about the structure of Singapore; in our time it is truly an advanced civilization. Perhaps some prototype of the civilization of the future. A brilliant invention by LKYu and his associates. Their model looks very viable and promising, but unfortunately it does not allow a person to feel like he belongs and be confident in the future. This model is only capable of using a person, squeezing all the juice out of him and sending him back home.

Who is interested in information in English:

"If IBM had ever bothered to actually possess a physical country, that country might have had a lot in common with Singapore. There"s a certain white-shirted constraint, an absolute humorlessness in the way Singapore Ltd. operates; conformity here is the prime directive, and the fuzzier brands of creativity are in extremely short supply..."

Singapore Economic Miracle

Singapore only gained its independence in 1965. At this point, the island state was classified as the poorest and most problematic in the world. The country does not have large reserves of natural resources; fresh water was supplied from Malaysia. The Singapore miracle is that today the capital of the state can be compared with New York in America. Thanks to the wise policy of the Prime Minister of the Republic, the economy of this corner of the earth flourished in a short time.

The Singapore miracle is the merit of the country's Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. He was born in 1923, studied in his native country and graduated from Cambridge in Britain. In 1949, after returning home, Lee devoted himself to the practice of law. He was a regular participant in trade union movements. Between 1959 and 1990 he served as Prime Minister. It was under the leadership of this great man that the country managed to move from the category of “third world” countries to the category of the richest states. The prime minister’s unusual policy was based on the desire to revive the country at the expense of a successful and developing people.

The secret of the Singapore miracle is hidden in Lee Kuan Yew's unique approach to the development of the country. He emphasized that all citizens of the state are overly interested in their personal growth and high incomes. The law of natural selection, which plays a key role in nature, was also taken into account. The concept of education under the authorship of Lee formed the basis for dramatic changes. She made it possible to change the statistics according to which the majority of smart and educated women never get married or have children. In parallel to this phenomenon, successful men gave priority to either poor or poorly educated Malaysian women. The Prime Minister decided to form a powerful basis for the development and creation of highly intelligent families that will give birth to a healthy and intelligent generation, which in the future will have a beneficial impact on the economy as a whole.

Under government leadership, two major marriage agencies were formed and contributed to Singapore's economic miracle. The main task of the organizations was to unite men and women of equal intellectual level and social status. One of the agencies still operates today, helping young, highly intelligent people create good families. The second helps other young people in the country. The selection of partners was carried out taking into account the personal characteristics of each person. Employees of the organizations organized personal meetings and created all the conditions for the favorable development of relations. After marriage, the young family received incentives from the state in the form of a housing loan. Uneducated women agreed to sterilization in exchange for solving the housing problem. Highly intelligent representatives of the country, on the contrary, were encouraged to give birth to a child.

The Singapore miracle was made possible not only by the formation of new connections. It was preceded by significant reforms in the education system. It was decided to provide all children with the same development conditions. There was no division among children's schools and kindergartens. Every year, IQ tests were conducted in each educational institution, organized by English scientists. Children who showed the best results automatically became students of the best school in the country, Raffles. It was here that the training of the future leadership of the state took place. This approach provided the country with highly intelligent personnel. There is a shortage of specialists with medium and low qualifications.

Lee Kuan Yew created the Singapore miracle gradually. And it became a natural consequence of an integrated approach to the transformation of the nation, which took into account numerous factors. The modernized education system has borne fruit. Today the state ranks first in the world in terms of intellectual development. The constant influx of young people with good education and intelligence ensures the continuous development of the state. The system of re-education of citizens has led to a reduction in crime, since chaos and development by their nature are simply incompatible.

Singapore's economic miracle and its causes are based on strong government rule based on the rule of law, which overcame shortcomings such as the lack of natural resources, minerals and fresh water. The world crises of 1998 and 2001 did not affect the country in any way due to its extraordinary development. The country has accepted unquestioning obedience to the law. Any legal violations require full responsibility on the part of the violator, whose social status does not play a role in this matter. Singaporean society is based on discipline at every social level. Family discipline is built on the traditions of three cultures at once: Chinese, Malay and Indian. Residents of Singapore have character traits that are unique in nature, such as a high level of efficiency and cunning, business acumen and a desire for success. The “father” of the Singapore miracle focused attention on another feature of the people - their obedience. A society of law, order and financial success is based on cultural characteristics.

The author of the Singapore miracle, Lee Kuan Yew, was not only involved in restructuring society. During his reign, a decision was made to develop the oil refining business. Cooperation was established with Brunei and Indonesia, which, although they were developing oil deposits, could not process it independently and efficiently. The world's largest companies were invited to implement the project. It was with the help of their funds, experience and connections that today's largest oil refining industry was built. Immediately after the heyday of this segment of the economy, construction began on the first Singapore port, of which there are already four today.

The creator of the Singapore miracle initiated the construction and development of the airport, banking business, electronics sector, trade and tourism. All this became the prerequisites for the splendor of modern Singapore. The state, which was drowning in debt back in the 1970s, now has investments abroad amounting to $300 billion. Moreover, the government has about $200 billion at its disposal for future projects. Singapore, which has a population of about 4 million people, is home to at least 50 thousand millionaires and billionaires. The Singapore miracle, which Lee Kuan Yew created throughout his life, is today considered an example for many countries around the world. Although Lee is now retired, he remains a minister-councillor and proudly bears the title of leader and father of the nation.

According to Lee Kuan Yew, the modern Singapore miracle can be observed thanks to the active attraction of investors to the country in all possible ways. The government literally went out of its way to help foreigners realize their projects. According to unofficial data, foreign investors save at least five hundred billion dollars in the country's banks. Today the country's GDP is equal to 55 thousand dollars per capita. It is by this indicator that the country is almost two times ahead of Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, Germany and even America. The state is also in the forefront in terms of the level of intellectual development of the population. A special part of the history of the island state can be called the fight against corruption. The authorities have significantly simplified decision-making mechanisms and limited the number of permits and licenses. The term of criminal punishment for bribery was significantly increased. There was an expansion of the powers of law enforcement agencies. An investigation, for example, can now be launched due to the families of officials living beyond their means.

Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore economic miracle was not complete without integration into the global banking system. The country received the status of a financial center for making 24-hour banking services possible. The country has filled a niche that was previously vacant. Thus, funds from Zurich, whose banks open at 9 am, are redirected to Frankfurt and then to London. After banks in Zurich close at lunchtime and financial institutions in Frankfurt and London close later, New York takes over, followed by San Francisco. Due to the specifics of time zones, from the moment banks closed in San Francisco until 9 a.m. in Switzerland, the financial world was previously asleep. Today this niche belongs specifically to the banking segment of Singapore. This approach to the development of the financial industry has made the country not only a major financial center in the region, but also provided it with a worthy place on the world stage. According to experts, the Singaporean economic miracle is a standard for how an effective economic system should be built.

In connection with the death of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the excitement around the so-called “Singapore economic miracle” has once again risen.

They started talking again about how this country, thanks to the wise policy of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who is called the “father of the Singapore miracle,” managed to achieve impressive successes in the economy, “to make a dizzying path from a “third world” country to a highly developed state with one of the best standard of living."

When the bourgeois press makes a fuss about a phenomenon, praises it and extols it, this should alert us. From this we can conclude that it serves her interests. And the bourgeoisie has one main interest - to maintain its dominance, to preserve capitalism. To do this, it is necessary to deceive the working people, to make capitalism attractive or at least tolerable for them.

Since the working people of capitalist countries know first-hand how disgusting, cynical and ruthless their own, “domestic” capitalism is, there is only one thing left to do – to create for them an attractive picture of “alien” capitalism. Deceive them with the illusion that somewhere out there there is a bourgeois state, where rivers of milk flow on the banks of jelly, where everyone can become rich, where real “economic miracles” happen. Let the working people in their country suffer from the oppression of capital, poverty, unemployment, from all the ills of the bourgeois system - and at the same time let them believe that there is an “economic miracle” somewhere. And what if you are lucky and a “wise leader” comes to power, he will arrange the same miracle for them. It will suppress corruption and give everyone the opportunity to get rich.

And the workers will not have to change the social system or strive for liberation from the power of the capitalists. On the contrary, it is precisely the capitalists who are destined for the role of benefactors of the working people; it is they who will arrange everything for the better, and create an “economic miracle” for the working people.

This makes the workers hope for a miracle, for a change in their fate by the good will of the capitalist, distracts them from the struggle, and therefore serves the interests of the capitalists.

It is in these forms that the bourgeoisie from time to time praises some capitalist state for its supposedly fantastic economic successes and trumpets about an “economic miracle.”

We decided to find out what the so-called Singapore miracle is and how things are in Singapore. Here's what we found out.

The father of the “miracle” is considered to be Lee Kuan Yew, who was the prime minister and directly ruled the country in 1959-1990, and after that held the positions of senior minister and minister-mentor (that is, he ruled unofficially).

For a long time, Singapore was a British colony. From the beginning of the 17th century and for almost a hundred years, Great Britain fought with Holland for these territories and eventually took possession of them.

Having become a colony, Singapore immediately became part of the British East India Company. British East India Company in fact, it was one of the largest trading monopolies in Great Britain. Created on December 31 by decree of Elizabeth I, it received extensive privileges for trading operations in India. With the help of the East India Company, the British colonization of India and a number of countries in the East was carried out. Britain used Singapore as a trading point on the way to deliver British goods to China. (That is, to spread its economic influence to Southeast Asia and for its further colonization. Please note this point - Singapore, due to its geographical location, has long served to spread the influence of the economically developed West, in particular Great Britain, to Asia, served the colonialist Western policy) To develop trade and implement colonialist policies, the British needed the most modern ports and communication routes in Singapore, and they built them: an overpass across the Strait of Johor, connecting the island with the mainland, a railway through Malacca to Bangkok, etc. Probably for these reasons According to Wikipedia, “Singapore prospered under English rule.” But we know what such “prosperity” actually turned out to be for the local population and due to what it happened - due to the ruthless exploitation of the local population, due to the most brutal colonial rule of the British over the enslaved territories. And if anyone flourished, it was the local nobility, with whose help the colonialists carried out the oppression of the bulk of the natives. But, be that as it may, we see that in Singapore and at the time of colonial dependence, a large number of communication routes were built and trade was actively developing, that is, the preconditions were created for the development of capitalism.

In 1948, in connection with the liberation struggle of the colonial peoples that intensified after the Second World War, the British imperialists, seeking to maintain their dominance over these territories, created the so-called “Malayan Union”. It included the Malay states and parts of the former British crown colony of the Straits Settlements - Penang and Malacca. Singapore, formerly part of this colony, became a separate colony. However, all this could not stop the liberation aspirations of the dependent peoples. The anti-colonial struggle intensified. In 1959, as a result of negotiations, Singapore was declared an "autonomous state" within the British Commonwealth, and in 1965 it became an independent state.

The “father of the Singapore miracle,” Lee Kuan Yew, came to power in 1959 - when Singapore gained autonomy, when colonial dependence on Great Britain was somewhat weakened, but not destroyed. He became prime minister, in fact, the governor of the colonialists. Wikipedia says that “the new government followed a moderate course in both foreign and domestic policies.” What did this mean? In foreign policy, the “moderate course” of the new government was expressed in the fact that it tried to suppress the anti-colonial struggle of its population and compromise with the British imperialists. The authorities, led by the “father of the Singapore miracle,” were afraid that the liberation struggle of Singaporeans against the colonialists could turn into a struggle against their own oppressors, who served the imperialists, and sweep them away along with them.

In domestic policy, Lee Kuan Yew’s “moderate course” was expressed in the fact that he methodically cleared the ground for building state-monopoly capitalism in his country. In particular, for this purpose, he organized a brutal persecution of communists. This is stated very frankly and exhaustively on one of the bourgeois resources praising the “Singapore miracle”:

“In Singapore, as in other successful Asian countries (Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia), the Communist Party was crushed and banned, since its ideas would be destructive to the emerging new market relations and the emergence of a class of owners.”

In 1961, a small left wing broke away from the People's Action Party, whose chairman was Lee Kuan Yew. The new party advocated a more courageous and open struggle against the colonialists and called itself socialist. Lee Kuan Yew accused the new party of being a front for the communists. This became a signal for persecution of all communist and socialist parties and trade union movements in the country. The real debacle was Operation Coldstore on February 2, 1963, when 107 left-wing political and trade unionists were arrested under the Internal Security Act. They were accused of having links with Indonesian intelligence, supporting the uprising in Brunei, plotting against the creation of Malaysia and overthrowing the Singaporean government. Without trial or investigation, they spent many years in prison.

Lee Kuan Yew began such an anti-communist policy even before 1965, when Singapore remained a British colony. After gaining independence, he continued and intensified the persecution of communists, making it part of state policy.

Much has been written about how the “father of the Singapore miracle” managed to crack down on corruption. As you know, corruption is an integral attribute of capitalism. And state-monopoly capitalism is the most favorable, ideal environment for corruption. The mining and metals industry provides previously unheard of opportunities for corruption. Therefore, corruption in the mining and metals sector can only be reduced in one way - draconian measures, harsh force actions of state-monopoly capital. This is exactly what Lee Kuan Yew did:

“Lee Kuan began the fight against corruption by simplifying the interpretation of legislation. All ambiguities and loopholes have been removed. Judges' salaries were increased many times over... Almost all of the police were replaced. Officials' salaries were significantly increased and at the same time anti-corruption bodies were created, reporting personally to Lee Kuan. A number of ministers and even relatives of the “dictator” who were convicted of corruption received prison sentences.”

A perfect illustration of What is the “fight against corruption” under the MMC - state-monopoly capital, whose interests are expressed by Lee Kuan Yew, defends with an iron fist its monopoly right to rob the workers and the entire people and inexorably deals with those who encroach on this monopoly. To do this, he strengthens the bureaucracy, seeks to buy its loyalty, gives it high salaries, which again falls on the shoulders of the same workers.

As for the “economic reforms” themselves, as a result of which the “miracle” occurred, they boil down to the following:

- firstly, the Singaporean bourgeoisie, represented by Lee Kuan Yew, provided the world's large monopolies, primarily American ones, with extremely favorable conditions for making profits - low taxes and an abundance of cheap labor. In fact, she sold her workers into slavery to foreign monopolists and, due to this, improved her affairs and became rich (the “father of the Singapore miracle” himself talks about it this way: “We didn’t just welcome every investor, we simply went out of our way to help him start with us production." This policy bore fruit. Through the efforts of American corporations, the foundation was laid for Singapore's large-scale high-tech industry");

– secondly, it turned into an agent of influence of Western, primarily American, financial capital in Asia, turned its country into a stronghold for the further expansion of Western financial capital in the Asian region, and became an active accomplice of Western imperialism. Through Singapore, Western imperialism exports capital to the Asian region and carries out the economic enslavement of the countries of this region.

This is how it is described on a bourgeois resource, where Lee Kuan Yew’s “economic reforms” are praised:

“Lee Kuan built his economic development strategy around the idea of ​​moving into the non-manufacturing sector and turning Singapore into a trade and financial center of Southeast Asia, as well as attracting foreign investors by creating an attractive package of conditions for international companies.”

From all that has been said, it is clear that state-monopoly capitalism has been created in Singapore, and monopoly capital exercises its dominance over the working people and over all layers of society using the most brutal, often outright dictatorial methods. That is, it clearly has fascist features. It is not surprising, therefore, that in 1984 (under the reign of the same Lee Kuan Yew and at his instigation) the Singaporean authorities adopted an openly fascist “Concept of Education”. Here is a text that perfectly shows what this “concept” is:

“The law of natural selection, as one of the fundamental laws of the market, has become the basis for the education of Singapore citizens. Particular attention is paid to raising children. The concept of education was developed by Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew in 1984. It is based on eugenics, the theory of a person's hereditary health and ways to improve it. Singaporean sociologists have noticed that many highly educated women do not marry and do not have children, and many men marry poor, uneducated Malay and Indian women. Lee Kuan Yew ordered the creation of a powerful base for the creation of normal families capable of raising and raising healthy and smart children.

Two marriage agencies were created under the patronage of the government. Their goal is to arrange marriages between couples of comparable social and intellectual levels. The first agency is called the Department of Social Development, or SSD. It deals with educated young people. The second agency is the Social Development Service, or SSD. Their clientele is all other young people.

Both agencies work with the involvement of serious specialists: psychologists, sociologists and doctors. Here they not only select a partner for a young man, taking into account all personal characteristics, but also create conditions for meetings, including one-on-one... Uneducated women are offered sterilization after the birth of their second child in exchange for solving the housing problem. Intellectual women will also receive considerable encouragement, but only if they give birth to more than three children.”

There’s no need to even comment on anything here. Everything is clear - this is pure fascism, and there is no other way to call it. The bourgeoisie mates the working people like cattle at a breeding station in order to obtain from them the slaves they require.

And here it is impossible not to point out something to those sick in the head who equate communism with fascism. Look at how the Soviet government, the power of the working class, acted in its time. She taught the uneducated, gave them the opportunity to join education and culture, and assisted them in this in every possible way. And the fascist government, the reactionary dictatorship of capital, forces the uneducated to be sterilized.

And another frankly fascist feature of Singaporean capitalism. Financial capital, rigidly dominating the working people, not only completely subordinates their entire lives to its interests, completely sucks and devastates them, but despotically selects the most intelligent and talented children in order to subsequently force them to serve themselves, their interests, to use their intelligence and talent in for your purposes. Here's the quote again:

“All kids receive the same starting conditions. Kindergartens and primary schools are not divided into elite and non-elite. But once a year, global IQ testing is carried out for all 11-12 year olds. It is organized by the British, the world's best experts in determining the level of intelligence. So Singaporean parents cannot use their family and other connections to influence the outcome.

The best of the best get into elite educational institutions. Raffles School is the most successful. Without exaggeration, the future leadership of the country learns here. Classes here start at 7.30 am and end at 18.00. Children of poor parents also study here. Their studies are fully paid for by the state.».

As we see, monopoly capital vigilantly monitors the development of children in order to notice the talented children of workers in time and take possession of them, and from an early age begin to educate their obedient servants from them. There are two goals here - firstly, to get capable slaves, and secondly, to eliminate the possibility that these children, born to the poor, will eventually begin to serve their class and become the proletarian intelligentsia. To deprive the working class of those who could subsequently become a spokesman for its interests and lead it in the struggle for its liberation. Many poor parents are happy if their smart and talented children get into a free elite school, and hope that they will go out into the world. But capital does nothing for nothing. It is not for nothing that he invests money in the education of these children. He wants to take possession of them, so that he can then suck out their intelligence and talent, making them his assistants in the oppression and enslavement of the working people - that is, the enemies of his own parents.

The same fascist project - and with the same goal - is beginning to be implemented here in Russia. They are already preparing to try this project in Transbaikalia.

As we can see, the “Singapore economic miracle” is a lie. The economic paradise that the bourgeoisie paints for us turns out, upon closer examination, to be a nightmare, an openly fascist capitalist regime. The vaunted father of the miracle, Lee Kuan Yew, is a complete, convinced fascist, persecutor of communists, enemy of the working class and zealous servant of finance capital.

Well, as for the notorious Singaporean prosperity and victory over corruption, here are the facts. We quote excerpts from bourgeois sources, from which everything becomes clearer than clear.

First, on the topic of supposedly universal economic prosperity in Singapore

“And right on the first day, while walking around the city, we met several “friends” who were collecting bottles and sleeping on a bench in the park.

Who are these tramps and why do they live on the streets in this richest country?

These are pensioners. The fact is that there are no pensions in Singapore. Elderly people should be supported by children. And if the children turn out to be not very positive or wealthy people, then each parent has only one fate - to remain in old age on the street, since maintaining housing in Singapore is quite expensive.”

“But there are also slums here. If you take the time to move a little away from the city center, you will meet many poor people. A paradise for a foreigner, Singapore is a harsh homeland. The legislation of this city is one of the most cruel in the world. Thus, punishment with canes and hanging still exist here, and even calls for violence and suspicious conversations on the Internet are considered crimes.”.

This is on the topic of the origins of the “economic miracle”

« However, the development of Singapore has begun at a rapid pace only in recent decades. Thanks to its offshore zone status, low taxation and, frankly speaking, legislation favorable to foreigners, Singapore has become one of the centers of the world economy. The offices of the world's leading companies are located here, and those who would like to be tax-free register their organizations here. Those small deductions that still have to be made are the main source of income for Singapore. And this income is enough to keep the entire state in order.”

And finally, about “victory over corruption”

“A Japanese diplomat wrote in his almost native Vladivostok: “You won’t believe it, but what in Russia is usually called “democracy”, and you, as a journalist, call “freedom of speech” is practically absent in Singapore. There seem to be 3 parties in parliament, but 98 percent of the seats are occupied by the ruling party. You can get any newspaper in the world, but the local press is exclusively loyal to the government. This country is like one large corporation, all of whose citizens are arranged in a hierarchy in the staffing table and are personally interested in the successful financial and economic activities of this large company, which can be called Singapore Incorporated...

Yes, these are the facts about the “Singapore miracle”. This miracle is not for everyone, as it turns out, but for a minority of society. If the minority, the Singaporean bourgeoisie, enjoys all the blessings of life, then the ordinary working people of Singapore, the majority, are oppressed by poverty and concern for a piece of bread. The origins of this miracle are in financial scams, in the fact that the Singaporean bourgeoisie helps Western capital launder money and spread its influence in Southeast Asia and lives off this. And corruption, of course, has not been defeated at all. Singapore's rulers have to constantly suppress it with the most draconian measures. Which is not surprising, since under capitalism corruption cannot be defeated at all. Here people are beaten with sticks and hanged, they are put in prison even for “calls for violence” - that is, for the slightest attempt by workers to resist the power of capital.

So this is what it looks like up close, this Singaporean miracle, which is so diligently advertised by bourgeois ideologists in order to deceive us with a picture of tempting capitalism.

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Car parking in Singapore skyscrapers

Photos of Singaporean poverty

Get to know one of the strangest geopolitical entities on the planet - the city-state of Singapore!

Alexey Dmitriev

It is so small geographically and so large economically that we had to examine its cruel laws under a magnifying glass and its hanging gardens through a telescope.

On August 9, 2015, Singapore turned 50 years old. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of the republic, who in 1965 received control of a colonial port on a small island, which played the role of a transshipment base on the way from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, did not live to see this anniversary for some six months. Not only were there no natural resources on the swampy islands; drinking water was pumped there from neighboring Malaysia. The population was predominantly those who came to work, spoke different languages ​​and worshiped different shantrap gods from the countries of Southeast Asia and India, British officials and Chinese traders, through whose hands everything went, including opium.

It was the elastic economic muscle of the Chinese community that served as the unspoken reason for Singapore's withdrawal from the Federation of Malaya in August 1965. Lee Kuan Yew foresaw that in a state of relaxed Malays they would vigorously milk the enterprising Chinese on the good grounds that they had money.

Announcing the withdrawal from the federation to Singaporeans, Mr Yu shed a tear. After that, no one ever saw him weak again. And ten years later, American diplomat Vernon Walters remarked: “Thank God that Lee Kuan Yew rules a small state! Otherwise, Brezhnev and Nixon would have to seek sympathy in each other’s arms.”

Unconventional approach

The far-sighted prime minister of a tiny city-state has come up with a cunning way to survive. Firstly, this leader of independent Singapore, instead of expelling the troops of its previous owner, Great Britain, from the country, asked the damned imperialist invaders to stay here longer. Independence is independence, but sitting between Malaysia and Indonesia without the protection of a British bayonet is still extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, the British military bases not only provided guarantees against external threats, but were also a reliable support in the event of rebellions. And as a huge bonus, one could consider that these bases also provided work for more than 20% of Singaporeans.

Secondly, in addition to the imperialists, Lee Kuan Yew had great respect for the capitalists. He opened the doors of Singapore to large international businesses - European and American. Open wide: duty-free import of goods, transparent minimum taxes and dozens of other economic goodies have long made Singapore one of the five most investment-attractive countries in the world.

Did Lee Kuan Yew turn Singapore into an economic freewheeler because he was a liberal by conviction? Correct answer: no, it was not. And it’s not a fact that he liked it all. But he liked being the master of Singapore, and he correctly calculated that for the interests of its companies the Western world would fight anyone who encroached on the existing order of affairs here. In fact, Singapore became the heart of Asian trade, a small heir to the Great Silk Road. This was the main free economic zone in the region, and golden rain (in a good sense of the word) fell on the country.

A country the size of a cat, ruled by the word of one man, could afford such flexibility, such initiative, such savings of funds that its sedentary but populous neighbors were not capable of. There was no place for large-scale production in Singapore, so high-tech (electronics, biopharmaceuticals) and financial services rushed there.

By the end of the 1980s, over $500 billion of investment flowed into Singapore, and new industries were introduced there: oil refining (in compliance with the highest environmental standards) and mass tourism. Today, 73% of the country's GDP comes from the service sector, and 27% from industry. Thus, Singaporean society has successfully stepped “from the third world to the first” - that is, by the way, the title of the second volume of Lee Kuan Yew’s memoirs “The Singapore Story”.

Mafia is mortal

One of Lee Kuan Yew's first exploits was the total and immediate destruction of corruption. The ruler knew very well that corrupt officials usually steal thousands and spoil millions, that serious Western corporations would not fully join the market, where bribery, nepotism and lawlessness reign. And he, having enlisted the support of the British army, began to accomplish a great task - to cut off the heads of the thousand-year-old hydra of Asian traditions.

The police were shaken up, almost all the judges were fired (they were replaced mainly by well-known lawyers, that is, that part of the legal profession that is always less entangled than others in corruption ties and schemes). The laws were formulated clearly and simply, and punishment for breaking them became swift and inevitable.

Even Lee Kuan Yew’s closest friends and relatives went to prison, but they did not immediately get their bearings in the new order. In a matter of weeks, the Singapore branches of triads - Chinese criminal groups - were eliminated. Ministers, judges, police chiefs and other high-ranking officials were officially given such high salaries that the best brains flowed from the private sector to the government, who did not waste time building bribery schemes.

And today, according to Transparency International, the country is one of the ten countries with the lowest level of corruption. Transparent and effective legislation helped foreign companies not to be afraid of “spin-ups” and expropriations.

Education of the people

What else did Western companies coming to Singapore need? Good specialists within walking distance, order and cleanliness on the streets, total stability. The last two points were dealt with simply. Draconian rules on the cleanliness of public places were introduced, and hundreds of thousands of bushes and trees were purchased and planted. Then the far-sighted prime minister began to tighten the reins of government regulation.

Political stability and social order have become important components of the Singaporean recipe. In the 1960s, there were serious tensions between the Chinese majority and the Malay and Indian minorities. Since then, interethnic harmony has been maintained by harsh punishments for inciting hatred. Ignoring accusations of “enlightened authoritarianism,” the tough prime minister periodically tightened the screws, as a result of which protests and strikes became extremely rare, and same-sex love and communism were completely banned.

Residents of Singapore are very, very careful in their statements on the Internet; dozens of different topics are dangerous for them, from criticism of the government to overly expressive language on any subject at all.

The problem of traffic jams, traditional for Asian cities, was dealt with just as harshly. An exceptionally efficient public transport system (Mass Rapid Transit) has been created here. But to have a private car, you need to buy a special license. Licenses are sold at auctions for amounts exceeding the cost of the car itself. As a result, on a modest 700 sq. km (19% of which, by the way, Singapore has washed up from the ocean over the past 49 years), this island state has virtually no traffic jams.

The number of certificates is directly proportional to the kilometers of roads built over the past year. The savvy reader, of course, has already guessed that the money raised at these auctions goes to support Singaporean public transport.

And many Singaporeans also like to drive “Draculas” - that’s what they call cars in Singapore, the right to own which allows you to use them only from dusk to dawn and on weekends and costs a third less.

Although from the outside Singapore may seem boringly stable and safe, the People's Action Party government, which has had a stranglehold on power for 50 years, behaves as if enemies are rattling weapons outside the country, and a “fifth column” is raising its head inside.

Participation of the population in elections is mandatory and often funny. Those living in the Tanjong Pagar constituency in which Mr Yu himself stood were automatically counted as having voted for him; At the same time, the media is toothless, and reliable English libel laws are used against the opposition, with the threat of bankruptcy if the case goes to court.

And although relations with Malaysia and Indonesia are no longer as tense as they once were, young people are required to serve in the army, which is modeled on the Israeli model, and a fifth of the budget is spent on defense. One of Lee Kuan Yew's catchphrases: “We decide what is right and what is wrong. We don’t care what people think.”

When the law is fierce

As a result, today there is a couple of hundred thefts per year per 5 million population. On the streets - not a candy wrapper. Everyone has heard about the monstrous fines for spitting out chewing gum, spitting and smoking in public places. Unlike the rest of Southeast Asia, you can safely drink tap water here.

Prostitution, even that, is compactly limited to a couple of blocks in the Geylang district, and the ladies who practice it are registered and regularly undergo medical examinations.

The elevators are equipped with urine odor detectors, which, in the event of someone's momentary weakness, will lock the doors, imprisoning the culprit, and send a signal to the police.

There is important news in the editorial: law enforcement officers have finally managed to figure out from which apartment in a huge high-rise building cigarette butts have been flying down for several months. The culprit received a S$19,800 fine and forced waste removal work to brand the offender with disgrace. You will be fined $500 for not flushing a public toilet, and $5000 if you hack a private Wi-Fi.

According to the World Bank, the republic ranks eighth in terms of GDP per capita, but graffiti, vandalism and racial slurs are punished with bamboo rods. As well as for criticizing the government, which amounts to a violation of public order.

The warning that anyone found in possession of more than 15 grams of heroin or 200 grams of cannabis will face death is encountered as soon as they exit the plane - Singapore leads in the number of death sentences carried out per capita. Another famous Lee Kuan Yew quote: “If people don’t fear me, I’m meaningless.”

Creation of Man

But we had to tinker with the first point of the program mentioned above, and here great successes have not yet been achieved. Lee Kuan Yew believed that the most important part of the population was the well-educated middle class.

When people have something to lose and a head on their shoulders, they will be safer than any other social group. There was virtually no middle class in Singapore in the 1960s, and it took about half a century to carefully nurture it.

In 1965, out of a population of 1.9 million, 300 thousand people were squatters and another 250 thousand huddled in the central regions of 18 people under one roof. Then the government came up with the idea of ​​​​building and providing ownership of inexpensive government apartments on a large scale, based on the fact that, having become property owners, Singaporeans, especially former immigrants, would be more concerned about the order and cleanliness of the place in which they live.

And in addition, they will receive a humbling cargo in the form of real estate and deep gratitude to their native government. And it worked! Today, 85% of residents live in government-owned apartments and are happy that their property has risen in price tenfold on the secondary market.

Patriotic and nationalistic sentiments, infused in square meters, soar over Singapore today, higher than the Air Force fighter jets flying over the heads of Singaporeans on Independence Day.

Singapore is not what you would call a nanny state. There is zero tolerance for dysfunctional elements looking for an opportunity to sit on the neck of the state. The familiar principle “He who does not work, neither shall he eat” has been elevated to a state philosophy.

Therefore, there is practically no unemployment in the country; being unemployed is socially unacceptable for a Singaporean. And considering that Singapore has one of the best educational systems in Asia, it’s a shame. To ensure that university education is widely accessible, every Singaporean between 6 and 16 years old has what is called an “education savings account”, which is funded by both parents and the government. At the same time, the country sends especially promising people to gain their intelligence in the world's most prestigious scientific and educational centers.

This often awakens creative freedom in them, because the Singaporean educational model, which has adopted many Confucian precepts from school to universities, is purely pragmatic and emphasizes “physics”, leaving little room for “lyricists”. Strict adherence to a set of rules is of paramount importance, and independent natures get it from both teachers and parents.

Nevertheless, the average level of intellectual and creative abilities among Singaporeans is still, alas, far behind the best global indicators. It’s not us who are dealing with racism, that’s what Lee Kuan Yew said. At the end of the 80s of the last century, he decided to correct another ancient Eastern tradition - the belief that a wife should be stupider than her husband. Lee Kuan Yew made heated speeches about the need to marry women with higher education, but you, dear bastard fellow citizens, turn your noses up at smart ladies, prefer to marry chubby-cheeked, unreasonable youngsters, and so the gene pool suffers.

These speeches, by the way, offended even all-agreeable Singaporeans, and the People's Action Party paid with votes in the next elections. However, this did not stop the father of the nation. Something like a state marriage agency in Singapore was created - the Social Development Division, which, however, dealt not so much with marriages, but with the supervision of demography in general. For example, it obliged the Resettlement and Development Administration not to sell government-built apartments to single people until 1991, because the government advocated for an increase in the number of marriages and an increase in the birth rate.

By the way, when the USSR was respected, father Yu forced his son to learn Russian and later worried that premature glasnost undermined the country, while it was necessary to start with the economy. Unlike North Korea, and indeed many democratic countries that stumble quite a bit along the way, the Singaporean phenomenon seems to be successfully challenging liberal ideas that unlimited freedom is a precondition for prosperity.

The overwhelming majority of the population supports the new leader and agrees to tolerate restrictions on personal freedoms for the sake of stability and well-being of the state. Big business still prefers not to interfere in politics in a country where financial success is considered one of the main manifestations of patriotism.

But when assessing the success of Singapore, it is important to understand: most of the companies operating successfully in the country came here from completely different living conditions.

Actually, there is practically no innovation on the ground here; everything, from technology to working methods, is not born here, but in those corners of the planet where freedom of thought and activity is still a top priority. And looking back to Singapore as a perfect example of the usefulness of the whip makes as much sense as sticking a Mercedes badge on a homemade scooter - in the sincere belief that these details - badges, fines and public floggings - are the main driving force of the design.

However, Singaporeans have come a long way from their post-colonial ancestors. They are 12 times richer, much more educated and very aware of what is happening in the world. They are already beginning to snap (for now on social networks) at the restrictive measures that their grandparents dutifully endured for the good of the idea. And the further, the louder the voices of critics: in the last elections in 2011, the share of votes of the permanently ruling People's Action Party decreased by 6.5%.

Those elections showed that it is important to listen to the people and that a paternalistic management style no longer works. The Singapore government is moving from preaching to dialogue with citizens through the new Our Singapore Conversation program, giving them the opportunity to speak out on sensitive issues and develop civic and democratic views that were not previously welcomed.

The People's Action Party has overcome opposition to social programs that support the poor and elderly and has begun to respond to anti-immigration sentiment among Singaporeans not with fists, but with explanations. Of course, Lee Kuan Yew would have resolved the issue differently. But the architect of Singapore's “economic miracle” is no longer there, and times are changing.

Singapore only gained its independence in 1965. At this point, the island state was classified as the poorest and most problematic in the world. The country does not have large reserves of natural resources; fresh water was supplied from Malaysia. The Singapore miracle is that today the capital of the state can be compared with New York in America. Thanks to the wise policy of the Prime Minister of the Republic, the economy of this corner of the earth flourished in a short time.

Who revived Singapore?

The Singapore miracle is the merit of the country's Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. He was born in 1923, studied in his native country and graduated from Cambridge in Britain. In 1949, after returning home, Lee devoted himself to the practice of law. He was a regular participant in trade union movements. Between 1959 and 1990 he served as Prime Minister. It was under the leadership of this great man that the country managed to move from the category of “third world” countries to the category of the richest states. The prime minister’s unusual policy was based on the desire to revive the country at the expense of a successful and developing people.

What became the basis for the development of the state?

The secret of the Singapore miracle is hidden in Lee Kuan Yew's unique approach to He emphasized that all citizens of the state are overly interested in their personal growth and high incomes. The law of natural selection, which plays a key role in nature, was also taken into account. The concept of education under the authorship of Lee formed the basis for dramatic changes. She made it possible to change the statistics according to which the majority of smart and educated women never get married or have children. Parallel to this phenomenon, priority was given to either poor or poorly educated Malaysian women. The Prime Minister decided to form a powerful basis for the development and creation of highly intelligent families that will give birth to a healthy and intelligent generation, which in the future will have a beneficial impact on the economy as a whole.

Marriage agencies - the basics

Under government leadership, two major marriage agencies were formed and contributed to Singapore's economic miracle. The main task of the organizations was to unite men and women of equal intellectual level and social status. One of the agencies still operates today, helping young, highly intelligent people create good families. The second helps other young people in the country. The selection of partners was carried out taking into account the personal characteristics of each person. Employees of the organizations organized personal meetings and created all the conditions for the favorable development of relations. After marriage, the young family received incentives from the state in the form of a housing loan. Uneducated women agreed to sterilization in exchange for solving the housing problem. Highly intelligent representatives of the country, on the contrary, were encouraged to give birth to a child.

It all starts at a young age

The Singapore miracle was made possible not only by the formation of new connections. It was preceded by significant reforms in the education system. It was decided to provide all children with the same development conditions. There was no division among children's schools and kindergartens. Every year, IQ tests were conducted in each educational institution, organized by English scientists. Children who showed the best results automatically became students of the best school in the country, Raffles. It was here that the training of the future leadership of the state took place. This approach provided the country with highly intelligent personnel. There is a shortage of specialists with medium and low qualifications.

An integrated approach gave stunning results

Lee Kuan Yew created the Singapore miracle gradually. And it became a natural consequence of an integrated approach to the transformation of the nation, which took into account numerous factors. The modernized education system has borne fruit. Today the state ranks first in the world in terms of intellectual development. The constant influx of young people with good education and intelligence ensures the continuous development of the state. The system of re-education of citizens has led to a reduction in crime, since chaos and development by their nature are simply incompatible.

What is the government's policy based on?

Singapore's economic miracle and its causes are based on strong government rule based on the rule of law, which overcame shortcomings such as the lack of natural resources, minerals and fresh water. The world crises of 1998 and 2001 did not affect the country in any way due to its extraordinary development. The country has accepted unquestioning obedience to the law. Any legal violations require full responsibility on the part of the violator, who plays no role in this matter. Singaporean society is based on discipline at every social level. Family discipline is built on the traditions of three cultures at once: Chinese, Malay and Indian. Residents of Singapore have character traits that are unique in nature, such as a high level of efficiency and cunning, business acumen and a desire for success. The “father” of the Singapore miracle focused attention on another feature of the people - their obedience. A society of law, order and financial success is based on cultural characteristics.

Global changes at the economic level

The author of the Singapore miracle, Lee Kuan Yew, was not only involved in restructuring society. During his reign, a decision was made to develop the oil refining business. Cooperation was established with Brunei and Indonesia, which, although they were developing oil deposits, could not process it independently and efficiently. The world's largest companies were invited to implement the project. It was with the help of their funds, experience and connections that today's largest oil refining industry was built. Immediately after the heyday of this segment of the economy, construction began on the first Singapore port, of which there are already four today.

Active development in all sectors of the economy at once

The creator of the Singapore miracle initiated the construction and development of the airport, banking business, electronics sector, trade and tourism. All this became the prerequisites for the splendor of modern Singapore. The state, which was drowning in debt back in the 1970s, now has investments abroad amounting to $300 billion. Moreover, the government has about $200 billion at its disposal for future projects. In a territory of about 4 million people, at least 50 thousand millionaires and billionaires live. The Singapore miracle, which Lee Kuan Yew created throughout his life, is today considered an example for many countries around the world. Although Lee is now retired, he remains a minister-councillor and proudly bears the title of leader and father of the nation.

Encouraging investors and fighting corruption

According to Lee Kuan Yew, the modern Singapore miracle can be observed thanks to the active attraction of investors to the country in all possible ways. The government literally went out of its way to help foreigners realize their projects. According to unofficial data, foreign investors save at least five hundred billion dollars in the country's banks. Today the country's GDP is equal to 55 thousand dollars per capita. It is by this indicator that the country is almost two times ahead of Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, Germany and even America. The state is also in the forefront in terms of the level of intellectual development of the population. A special part of the history of the island state can be called The authorities have significantly simplified decision-making mechanisms and limited the number of permits and licenses. The term of criminal punishment for bribery was significantly increased. There was an expansion of the powers of law enforcement agencies. An investigation, for example, can now be launched due to the families of officials living beyond their means.

Integration into the global banking system

Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore economic miracle was not complete without integration into the global banking system. The country received the status of a financial center for making 24-hour banking services possible. The country has filled a niche that was previously vacant. Thus, funds from Zurich, whose banks open at 9 am, are redirected to Frankfurt and then to London. After banks in Zurich close at lunchtime and financial institutions in Frankfurt and London close later, New York takes over, followed by San Francisco. Due to the specifics of time zones, from the moment banks closed in San Francisco until 9 a.m. in Switzerland, the financial world was previously asleep. Today this niche belongs specifically to the banking segment of Singapore. This approach to the development of the financial industry has made the country not only a major financial center in the region, but also provided it with a worthy place on the world stage. According to experts, the Singaporean economic miracle is a standard for how an effective economic system should be built.

What does Singapore look like today?

Since 1965, one of them has become the richest state on the planet. What everyone can see today was achieved by Singaporeans solely through their own strength and intellect. decorated in high-tech style, it is distinguished by sterile cleanliness. Concern for the environment is evident in a small number of cars. The reason for the lack of traffic jams is hidden in the too high cost of cars and the price of obtaining a permit to drive a vehicle. Pleasant little things that make the life of the country's citizens better are noticeable everywhere. Just look at the benches installed at an angle, allowing everyone sitting to clearly see the number of the approaching vehicle. The country has strict fines. A cigarette butt thrown out of a window can cost the offender about 15 thousand dollars. Not only the country's economy, but all aspects of its life look impeccable.