Authoritarianism
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Authoritarianism
There are few political pundits in Singapore. Even those who understand what is politics in Singapore, know that the Garmen is an authoritarianism system that seek to condition the masses by brainwashing them with their rewards, and for those who rebel, with punishments. Consequently we all (no exception!Lor) suffered a great brain damage in our system of education, and naturally we are pretty silent about it too.
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[edit] What is authoritarianism?
Authoritarianism describes a form of government characterized by strict obedience to the authority of the state, which often maintains and enforces social control through the use of oppressive measures. The term may also be used to describe the personality or management style of an individual or organization which seeks to dominate those within its sphere of influence and has little regard for building consensus.
In an authoritarian state, citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives, including many that other political philosophies would see as matters of personal choice. There are various degrees of authoritarianism; even very democratic and liberal states will show authoritarianism to some extent, for example in areas of national security.
[edit] The Garmen of Singapore
Singaporeans have in their apathetic and lethargic slumber over the last 30 years are now awakening up to face the fact that there are many problems in the society. They have conditioned the mind set of the people and the results are pretty gloom. Even the best of the brains are inclined to flee overseas to expand their wings. I call this the PAP dilemma and the article below is mirrored from somewhere in the Internet too.
[edit] The PAP Dilemma
- Singaporeans have been labelled as ignorant, arrogant, apathetic and lacking in initiative by foreigners as well as local themselves. And PAP knows very well that all these unflattering attributes are the intended results of its actions, policies and conditioning over the past 30 over years of control.
While a passive and not too intelligent electorate has served PAP well in the past few decades, it has now become a hindrance as the world gets more competitive. PAP has in the recent years reluctantly started to loosen its grip over its people and u-turn on some of its policies.
PAP believes that an electorate that hears and sees nothing critical of its rule and fed with propaganda from the state-controlled media won't challenge its rule and would be more malleable to its manipulations. However, the recent rapid globalisation may have brought to light that an ignorant work force might cause the country to be left behind in the rat race. Moreover, with internet there's an explosion of info, Singaporeans can no longer be kept in the dark forever. PAP counters this influx of info by creating its own alternate sources of newspaper, tv and radio stations as it's still wary of independent mainstream public media.
The pursuit of material success and defamation lawsuits have been systematically used by PAP to keep its populace out of politics. These tactics are so successful that they produced an undesirable side effect - apathy. Apart from chasing for material well being, majority of Singaporens don't seem to be bothered with anything. They also don't think much of the terrorist threat. With the economy in the doldrums PAP has a hard time getting its people to change its mindset. It's also at pains in convincing its people that the terrorist threat is real.
Over the past 30 odd years, PAP has implemented many rules and regulations to control what Singaporeans can and can't do. Transgressors are usually fined with little chance for appeal. Singaporeans have become so regulated that they lost their initiative, their ability to make their own decisions and the spirit to take risks. So while these rules and regulations provided PAP with a subservient populace and an excellent source of revenue, they killed entreprenuership in Singaporeans. The dearth of entreprenuership couldn't be more felt than now as PAP is at wits' end solving the state unemployment problems.
As PAP feels that its submissive and ignorant people is unable to compete in the increasingly competitive world market, its adopts a quick fix by recruiting foreign talents. To attract foreign talents, its tries to shed its "nanny state" image and promote Singapore as a hip and cosmopolitan state. PAP also gives tangible benefits like PR and scholarships to entice those talents.
In a nutshell, PAP is now faced with a dilemma of losing its absolute control over its people or be defeated by its own actions.
Either way, it reaps what it sows.
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