Review 18: Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism Asian Values, Free Market Illusions and Political Dependency, by Christopher Lingle (1996)
Reviewed by:
Samuel Brittan,
Financial Times, June 12, 1997, p.12
"...Mr Lingle's account of his experiences is a prelude to an analysis of authoritarian capitalism. He sees Singapore as only one example of phobocracy, or rule by fear. But the island of 31/2 m people is important both for its focal economic position and because of its claim to set a moral example - a claim accepted by some in the west who should know better.
Mr Lingle expounds Singapore's achievements "A tiny country bathed in sweltering tropical turpor which has achieved in a few decades a western per capita income, with a sophisticated labour force and little unemployment or poverty." He has, moreoever, some hopes that as economic advance turns to knowledge-based industries, Singapore will have to turn to liberal democratic capitalism if it is to foster the critical spirit on which these activities depend.
The author has made a case which should give pause to some of the more credulous admirers of Asian values."
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