A Fair, Not Welfare, Society / Lee Kuan Yew

The title of this article is the title of a chapter in the autobiography of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. Pragmatic Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's policy direction is implied. The chapter read:

 

We believed in socialism, in fair shares for all, Later we learnt that personal motivation and personal rewards were essential for a productive economy. However, because people are unequal in their abilities, if performance and rewards are determined by the marketplace, there will be a few big winners, and a considerable number of losers. That would make for social tensions because a society’s sense of fairness is offended.

 

A competitive, winner-takes-all society, like colonial Hong Kong in the 1960s, would not be acceptable in Singapore. A colonial government did not have to face elections every five years; the Singapore government did. To even out the extreme results of free-market competition, we had to redistribution the national income through subsides on things that improved the earning power of citizens, such as education.

 

Housing and public health were also obviously desirable. But finding the correct solutions for personnal medical care, pensions or retirement benefits was not easy. We decided each matter in a pregmatic way, always mindful of possible abuse and waste. If we over-redistributed by higer taxation, the high performers would cease to strive. Our difficulty was to strike the right balance.

 

- [From Third World To First] by Lee Kuan Yew -

 

In Korea, where the Cold War-era confrontation is still latent in the national consciousness, the level of consciousness of politicians may be limited to the Cold War (ideological confrontation). Or a politician could use the civic consciousness trapped in the Cold War consciousness as a means to maintain political power. The civic consciousness I looked at was still inert to ideology. In order for politicians to have true leadership to lead citizens, they must not forget the ultimate purpose and have a sense of balance, which will require a lot of physical strength and mental strength. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has truly achieved great results in this regard.

 

South Korea and North Korea do not need capitalism, South Korea and North Korea do not need socialism, and the two countries need sustainable development of their countries and societies. I have experienced that there are many difficulties in expressing political opinions in a balanced manner at the bottom of Korean society, and much more, North Korea, which has a strong tendency to be an ideological state, will have serious difficulties in having balanced thinking. To put it simply, even if North Korean President Kim Jong-un wants to accept the market economy, he cannot rapidly change the scientific socialist ideology deeply rooted in public consciousness. That's why 'incremental opening' may be necessary. Looking at Korean politicians and citizens whose minds are trapped in ideological thinking while the country is globalized, I can guess how difficult it is to change ideas.

 

These days, Korea's current government has proposed a bill to extend working hours, which should be considered from the perspective of humans, not from the perspective of efficiency or growth. From what I experienced directly at the working site, the efficiency improved and the turnover rate was low only when the working site was pleasant and comfortable. One big realization I have gained in the workplace for more than a decade is that humans are not machines. Humans should not be interpreted as ideology or efficiency. Low birth rate or rapid economic problems in Japan or Korea should be interpreted as a negative effect toward a capitalist society without realizing a true equal society.

 

In many ways, not only South Korea but also North Korea should refer to the purpose-oriented policy direction that abandons the ideology carried out by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.