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Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

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Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#151

Post by somewhereoutth »

somenameforme wrote: post #107
typon wrote: 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.

There's an interesting aspect of fertility rate that most don't know. They also determine the exact age ratios within a society! Imagine a population has a global fertility rate of 1 (and in Singapore it's even lower, though not globally - yet). That means each successive generation is half as large as the one prior. And we can approximate the age of fertility as between 20 and 40. So now let's start with 1 newborn a…

Indeed. And this burden of a top heavy population pyramid is a major reason for not having [more] kids - a vicious circle, which, if left to continue, will result in humanity simply evaporating.

A pretty depressing place, with whole towns and cities abandoned, as the dwindling population huddles closer together. Not just geography though, there would also be a retreat in the arts, sciences, etc as there are simply not enough people to maintain let alone advance these endeavours. Life would be about eking the last out of what was left over from the 'glory days', a sort of slow motion apocalypse.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#152

Post by 627467 »

dangus wrote: post #124
Der_Einzige wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> not result in societal collapse within a short few lifetimes?

Seems like you're more conditioned by apocalyptical Christian logic than you think

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#153

Post by bdsa »

lazylizard wrote: post #121
FatherOfCurses wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta

jb?

e: oh, Johor Bahru, interesting

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#154

Post by pydry »

cess11 wrote: post #23
ifwinterco wrote: post #4

I think Singapore's immigration policy is still interesting and relevant to western countries, but it's true it's also kind of similar to the UAE. Essentially it's (relatively) easy to get work visas for areas where there's a genuine shortage but difficult to get permanent residency and almost impossible to get citizenship. That's still a very different policy to what most western countries have right now. The UAE ha…

Do they get to vote? Also in general elections? Are they typically organised in unions?

The ruling party has perfected the art of using legal and social pressures to fracture any competing parties if they get too big.

They have a jealously guarded media monopoly and viciously crack down on opposition bloggers by suing them into bankruptcy using absurdly strict libel laws.

As a last resort they steal any policies which make the opposition popular. This is actually an underrated means by which Singaporeans exert democratic pressure on the government but it makes it pretty demoralizing to be in opposition.

There is a national union but it is controlled by the government. Striking is illegal iirc, but membership will get you discounts on your shopping.

Singaporeans are pretty apolitical on the whole, which is how the PAP seems to like it. Theyre not like Americans - not split into two herds who are trained to hate one another.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#155

Post by pydry »

notpushkin wrote: post #55
marcosdumay wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Singapore will execute people for different reasons, not for being gay.

Yes, mostly for drug trafficking and murder. You could in theory argue that drug trafficking is kinda comparable to being gay [1], but the capital punishment is only for huge amounts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Singapor... [1]: I mean, in my book consensual trade between two grown up people is closer to consensual sex between two grown up people than it is to murder. That said, there is still…

They also applied the death penalty to somebody with the mental capacities of a child who was being exploited as a drug mule.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#156

Post by pydry »

noobermin wrote: post #113
kdheiwns wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. My mental image of Singapore was always boring guys in suits working for soulless banks. At least Wall Street bankers go wild on drugs and know how to party. Singapore bankers are men who, when feeling adventurous, have a sip of wine here and there and women who push dogs in strollers. Having been to Singapore many times, I've realized my mental image was pretty accurate. There's no real art scene and even ment…

Close to a true perspective, especially if you came as one of those suits. There is soul in singapore, it's just actively co-opted by the govment or actively suppressed. You have to actually live here to see it and have friends who are not expats or mainland chinese (which is hard I think for most foreigners who come), it definitely isn't the same as the soul that you see in america or europe, I guess. The work life…

In Russia I noticed that it took barely 10 minutes with stranger before getting into a discussion of philosophy, literature, meaning of life, etc. (or how their soul ached for something)

I never saw this Singaporean soul even in deepest darkest ang mo kio.

It was low key creepy how shallow the locals were. They'd chat about gaming, shopping, grinding and food, food, food but very rarely anything deeper. even after knowing them for years.

I went to some "artistic immersive theater" there one time (there was an event like this maybe once a year?) and even there the first third was a girl monologuing about her love of kpop.

Most countries fit in the middle of these two somewhere but these two countries really stood out to me in their extremes.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#157

Post by [deleted] »

huhkerrf wrote: post #145
shell0x wrote: post #141

As a German expat who lived in Singapore for 3 years, it’s still the best country I ever lived in and I’ve also worked in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan HK, and Germany. Everything works, it’s very efficient, public transit and internet is good and it’s extremely safe. It also has great food and has low taxes. Most Western countries just can’t compete and while the UAE is pretty well run in some aspect, there…

It's strange that you mention the religious part of UAE making you uneasy, and not the modern day slavery.

[deleted]

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#158

Post by paintbox »

noobermin wrote: post #108

This article is so strange. It's interesting, but all he seems to care about is what right-wingers think. Who cares what they think? I guess that's all to whom Tyler Cowen wishes to appeal.

I used to be an occasional MR reader, but stopped visiting lately because of this. When it became obvious how the US presidential race will end (basically after assassination attempt) Cowen's tone heavily shifted. Even the facade of objectivity went through the window. Now most of his writing is spent on defending the indefensible. Shame, his early takes helped shape my world model.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#159

Post by charlieyu1 »

ergocoder wrote: post #12
jmclnx wrote: post #8

I think it is due to China. I remember Singapore was a large financial center for Asia, but China's rapid growth overshadowed Singapore. I also think Hong Kong is going through the same thing, plus I believe China is trying to make Shanghai into its main Finance Center, letting Hong Kong's center fade away.

It's hilarious that we think of Singapore as competing with China where China has 1000x more people. Singapore is pretty impressive.

China could only compete with Hong Kong after they crippled Hong Kong hard enough.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#160

Post by somenameforme »

somewhereoutth wrote: post #151
somenameforme wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an interesting aspect of fertility rate that most don't know. They also determine the exact age ratios within a society! Imagine a population has a global fertility rate of 1 (and in Singapore it's even lower, though not globally - yet). That means each successive generation is half as large as the one prior. And we can approximate the age of fertility as between 20 and 40. So now let's start with 1 newborn a…

Indeed. And this burden of a top heavy population pyramid is a major reason for not having [more] kids - a vicious circle, which, if left to continue, will result in humanity simply evaporating. A pretty depressing place, with whole towns and cities abandoned, as the dwindling population huddles closer together. Not just geography though, there would also be a retreat in the arts, sciences, etc as there are simply no…

I really am not following your logic here at all. You're precisely describing what happens from not having more kids.
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