Singapore: The World's Only Successful Dictatorship?

Audio editing by Eric Schneider
Motion graphics by Vincent de Langen
Everything else by Evan

This includes a paid sponsorship which had no part in the writing, editing, or production of the rest of the video.

Video supplied by Getty Images

[sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam]

Have you not heard of North Korea. Not a single citizen has ever complained about anything it is truly a paradise

[numbers]

It is possible to prosper while being authoritarian: that’s the very spirit of enlightened despotism. But it is a gamble: you’re placing a lot of power to very few hands, and you can only hope that those hands are indeed competent and prioritizes the greater good.

[celystia]

A smart dictatorship is one that makes you feel like you're not living in one.

[serene-illusion]

I'll paraphrase what I saw someone in the reply section said; Yeah I'd rather earn a higher than average salary and have great living conditions if it meant living in a dictatorship that doesn't feel like a dictatorship, but I'd also appreciate the option to hold a smiley face in protest.

[guacamolelover]

As a singaporean, nobody here refers to the ruling party as “pap” we say it as P.A.P in individual letters. Just a heads up!

[deathtrack]

Correction: Only 1 school is named after LKY - the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. LKY was very particular about not being immortalised. He even wanted his home to be destroyed after his death to prevent it being enshrined as a place of veneration.

[dvrhmyx]

As a Singaporean, our country isn't perfect but most of us can talk shit about the government (happens every day in every taxi) without much consequences and we also enjoy a strong efficient government. Hopefully we can open up more going forward.

[notredame]

I took a class a number of years ago called "Electoral Authoritarianism" in University where we took a look at Singapore (among a number of countries) and had to judge whether or not it was a democracy or not. Took a look at a lot of the stuff you highlighted in the video and had a guy come speak to us who did contract law work for tech companies over there. Really interesting stuff, glad(?) to see it highlighted.

[bytemegga]

"A country run like a corporation" how true. Government agencies are expected to be profitable here in Singapore

[malekzin]

For Malaysian point of view: people would rather live in a skillful dictatorship than a dysfunctional democracy. But of course, both countrymen would rather live in a highly functional democracy.

3k likes and over 230 replies.Thank you!!

[Simon_GH]

PolyMatter: Uploads another Singapore video

China: I thought we had something special 😢

[SuzushimaChin]

Travelled to over 20 countries and I think Singapores government is the most forward looking. Majority of things are planned 20years ahead and the government delivers its promises thats why they are constantly revoted in because they do their jobs.

[duncantalksalot]

Polymatter: Singapore is ultimately a dictatiorship.

Singaporeans: Yes but that's not how you pronounce P-A-P tho-

[User-eopf]

Singaporeans:
It's not about electing a different party, it's about sending a message

[ShortHax]

And here I thought Wadiya was the perfect dictatorship...

[riggy]

Recently I was thinking about the faillings we see in some countries and their democracies where sh*t doesnt get done because there's too much infighting. And I believed that the best governance is a benevolent dictatorship. The issue being it's near impossible to implement. And it comes with the risks of the leader becoming power hungry and wanting a legacy. So the cons make it too risky to try to implement

But Singapore does show that when you get the right people in. It flourishes amazingly.

I look at Singapore and think of it as everything right about this type of governance. Issue being. Power can corrupt. And all it takes is the next generation to destroy everything.

[billdong]

“Protests are illegal unless pre-approved by the government” that’s hilarious 😂

[swin]

Singaporean here.
I think what you mentioned about the gerrymandering and legal campaign period are spot on. My home is categorised under a GRC that is literally kilometres away from me. The 'getting charged for ridiculous reasons' thing is also quite real, earlier this year there were people arrested for protesting against LGBT discrimination by the education ministry. One thing that smells a bit fishy to me, however, is the 'vote for PAP to receive special benefits' thing you talked about at 12:35. I have never heard of such a thing before, and our votes are supposed to be anonymous. I'd love to see your source on that.

EDIT: I stand corrected. Apparently that was the case in the past. Not sure if it's still the case but it used to be.

I think most of us, especially the older generation, aren't extremely bothered by the lack of opposition in politics because life in Singapore isn't THAT bad, it's actually pretty comfortable. I think most people are just alright with the status quo and fear that change may disrupt it. Personally, I'm not very bothered about politics as long as the government in power gets the job done, which they have been for quite a few decades now.
However, nowadays I think more people are better educated on our political scene and are more cognisant of the issues that have arisen as a result of the essentially one-party rule. That's probably why the PAP is starting to lose some of its voters.

Nevertheless, if it really comes to it, I think Singaporeans would gladly vote for the oppositions if it meant that we'd have a better standard of living. I don't know if I can speak for everyone but to me, as long as Singapore continues to progress, I don't care which party is in power. We still have a long way to go, but either way I'm proud to be Singaporean.

One thing I've always found funny when foreigners discuss Singapore online is that we are commonly downplayed and called names like 'Disneyland with a death penalty' or 'fine city'. I've even seen people on Reddit talk about us Singaporeans like we're some deeply oppressed slaves living in an Orwellian society. Maybe it's just me and my outlook on life but I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as that. Sure, we may have some serious issues regarding mental health and our happiness, or lack thereof it, but in general I think most of our issues stem from the cost of living and the constant rat race here. I really admire you for the amount of research you put into this video though, it's pretty solid. Good job man


Okay one last thing, for the love of god please stop calling the ruling party the PAP, it's super weird to hear it as a local. We call them the P A P. We pronounce each letter individually, hearing the acronym pronounced as it looks is disturbing

[briancho]

When I first arrived in Singapore, from US, I was very surprised to see the level of trust people have on the government. They don't blindly believe in every word government says but at least they trust their government to get the job done. So at least for now, government is doing a good job and people are content. Who knows where it will go from here.

[philprice]

That was fantastic! I always sorta suspected that dictatorships could work if the party or person was benevolent enough, but that the risk was too high that one day it would inevitably dissolve. As you say, the cost is maintaining control, while the benefit is lack of constraint. For me, I started thinking about this when I heard (in passing) that Socrates was an open critic of democracy, but ultimately begrudged that it was the least worst option.