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Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

marginalrevolution.com

121–130 of 298 posts

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a reason William Gibson called it “Disneyland with the Death Penalty” https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/

Yes and whenever I see anyone gushing about Singapore that's the first place my mind goes. You can keep your 1000 different Instagrammable spots, I'd rather go some place that is a little more into democracy and reasonable policing.

the modus operandi is to live and work, and maybe raise and educate ur kids in singapore. and go jb kl bkk hcmc jkt or wherever else to play.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#122
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even though it feels depressing right now, I think the post-boomer world is going to be an amazing place.

The next generation of the ownership class they raised will gleefully usher in the fascism some of their cohorts fought physically and ideologically against, and there isn't the threat of global communism to keep them in check anymore. I wish I had your optimism.

The capitalist will NOT produce the rope that hangs him, but the tech nerd will design, and the labourer assemble, the robot that will replace them.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#123
post #50

> Singapore is a much more democratic country than most outsiders realize Yeah no. In Singapore you have a single party which has used it's constitution, laws, courts and media control to enforce a defacto one-party state for 60 years. Singapore citizens can (and do) vote but those votes have absolutely zero chance of changing anything. Is it technically democracy? Well they vote so yes? Is there any chance at all of…

those votes have every chance of changing everything.

its a first past the post system.

but fact is they always have majority of the popular vote. i dont think it ever declined below 55%. and at best they get 60+%.

there's always a large proportion of singaporeans who want the change. just never enough of them, yet. and maybe there might never be, if most singaporeans are happy with things as they stand.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#124
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to push back on this because you’re basically saying that old people visibly existing killed your vibe, and that jaywalking made you think less of the place. Heck, in a country with top-tier public housing (17th most affordable housing in the world) and healthcare (2nd best outcomes in the world, 12th highest life expectancy), how are you even sure those older people working jobs are “low paid?” Maybe you’re s…

The rapidly aging populace is bad for everyone including the old. Isiah 57:1. We should have had the “day of the pillow” that conservatives in Texas were advocating for during Covid.

So your plan is endless growth? When is the population high enough to stop doing that? How is that supposed to work logistically? In what scenario does that not result in societal collapse within a short few lifetimes?

Endless growth and the inevitable planetary destruction/exhaustion from that process isn’t good for anyone, either.

It’s easier to adapt to a shrinking population than one that is too large to sustain with food and energy.

I hate to say it but tossing bible versus around isn’t going to make your case very well. If we want to talk about things that are grounded in reality maybe let’s not cite a book that says god sent bears to kill children who made fun of a guy for being bald (2 Kings 2:23-24).

Let’s be real: the Christian plan is to trash the earth (Genesis 1:26) until rapture comes around to bail out believers who have been dutifully praying and fucking.

Any day now!

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#125
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

please give me a link said singpore is not democary and its run by a dictator

https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore Now your turn

singaporeans can read that. in singapore. we can access the rsf.org website too.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#127
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tame Orchard towers and four floors of whores never produced dubai chocolate tier of memes. Singapore is Disney with death penalty. Dubai is Disney with Minnie Mouse scat play. Hilariously, both great places to raise kids if you stick to the main attractions.

> Hilariously, both great places to raise kids if you stick to the main attractions. I haven't heard of many examples of people having profoundly positive impacts on the world being raised in either of those two countries. Of course, this will be impacted by their size and in the case of Dubai, it's recent ascendancy. Still, it makes me very wary of that claim.

I mean in the practical sense -safe, good amenities, schooling, access to migrant nannies. Great place to raise kids =/= raise great kids. Especially for expat bubbles.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#128
post #97

Singapore was never "cool" as long as I remember in Asian expat circles since 90s. It's like the nice clean manicured places where boring expats who enjoys boiled potatoes and chicken breasts without spice settle. Dubai without all the high quality sin.

There's the fact that they created a first world economy out of nothing, unlike the Gulf countries that just found oil under their feet.

Serious people TM. It's not a knock, no shame in SG being regional Ned Flanders.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#129
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually the whole developed world at the moment. Every place is a retirement community now.

Even though it feels depressing right now, I think the post-boomer world is going to be an amazing place.

We will be them soon enough. Don’t cut your nose to spite your face

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#130
post #117

I think Singapore will always scare (in particular) Americans. Rule-following, restrictive, collectivist, inclusive, intellectual, anti-corrupt, high-functioning ... A politician like Donald Trump would never come out of Singapore. And also Singapore is very much an inspiration for modern day China.

I think the only thing you're wrong about is modern China is a lot more about face which also is part of Singapore's psyche but nowhere near as much. While there might be some book-cooking, it's nowhere near as bad as the blatant kpi fudging that provincial governments do in China. The CCP also is far more authoritarian than (yes) even the PAP. You do not have random ministers getting disappeared after they fall out…

OP likely just pointing out Singapore used to train a lot of CCP officials something like 50k (I think slowed last 10 years). One of the SG uni governance program is colloquially called "mayor's class", joke is it's overseas branch of central party school. LKY met every PRC leader in some sort of mentor relationship. Obviously national scale between PRC/SG different, hence SG more of model of mayor/municipal level.
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