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Oh, but Singapore is a police state (a state where the government exercises rigid and oppressive laws). It is also a dictatorship. It may not be the worst of i
by flexie 14y ago
Oh, but Singapore is a police state (a state where the government exercises rigid and oppressive laws).
It is also a dictatorship. It may not be the worst of its kind in that it actually has (the thin conception of the) rule of law, but it's not a free country and it lacks decent human rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law_doctrine_in_Singapore http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law_doctrine_in_Singapo...
- sleepyhead 14y agoYou are painting a very dark picture of a country which in practice works better and has less problems than the US.
- lgieron 14y agoI think everyone agrees that dictatorship is superior to democracy IF the dictator is (and remains in the future) competent and also a decent human being. Maybe that's the state in Singapore right now?
- flexie 14y agoI don't agree. I'd rather have the - sometimes - incompetent, corrupt and selfish democratically elected politicians of the US or Europe, than the 'benevolent dictator' (even if he existed). I really like the idea of democracy that much. It's not that I don't see your point. Often democracies are inefficient. I just still prefer democracy.
- sigkill 14y agoYou're right. I'm listening to the History of Rome, and even they had a dictator appointed during war to 'cut the crap and get on with things' in times of emergency. Time and again, it has been proven that a single benevolent dictator is much better for the country than a democratic system. The only problem is that it's hard to find someone who does not fall into the 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' category, which is why we as a society are rather uncomfortable with the idea of a dictator.