Politics

Odpočívejte v pokoji, asijské hodnoty

Apr 4, 2015 Ian Buruma

NEW YORK – Jen málo politiků si po své smrti získalo tolik nadšených veřejných projevů podpory jako Lee Kuan Yew, zakladatel Singapuru a jeho dlouholetý bývalý premiér. Muž, kterého Henry Kissinger považoval za prozíravého, ruský prezident Vladimir Putin označoval za politický vzor a prezident Barack Obama popisoval jako “opravdového velikána historie“ jistě musel v životě něco udělat správně.

Jedna věc je nezpochybnitelná – Leeův vliv byl násobně větší než jeho skutečná politická autorita, která - k jeho evidentnímu zklamání, když se v roce 1965 rozdělil Singapur a Malajsie – nikdy nepřesáhla úzké hranice malého městského státu jihovýchodní Asie. Leeův nejsilnější vliv byl v postmaoistické Číně, kde rostoucí podnikání koexistuje společně s autoritářskou, leninistickou vládou jedné strany.

Lee byl průkopník kapitalismu se železnou pěstí. Ačkoliv mnohem méně brutální než Komunistická strana Číny, jeho People’s Action Party (PAP) byla v podstatě vládou jedné strany. Stejně jako mnoho jiných autoritářských vůdců (například Mussolini) byl Lee kdysi socialistou. Jeho myšlení však bylo stejně tak ovlivněno zvláštně nostalgickými vzpomínkami na britskou koloniální disciplínu a osobně prospěšným využitím konfucianismu, kde zdůrazňoval poslušnost vůči autoritám, zatímco ignoroval (rovněž konfuciánské) právo na nesouhlas.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 10 Comments on this article

Harlem Harlem Bachelet Apr 10, 2015

Buruma's contrary examples are mostly occupied countries that democratized after developmental liftoff and still "contract" national defense with the US. That list argues formidably for, at least, a transitional authoritarianism.

Liberal democracy collapsed pathetically in Europe in the 20th century after only a few decades of a German republic. The US has babysat ever since, and now Europe has adopted transnational government that has assumed some of the agency of domestically elected governments.

The US is separated from all other great powers by oceans, and was on its way to preeminence well before extending the franchise. Property seems bigger than the vote
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Jamie Walls Apr 9, 2015

When I was living in Hong Kong a few years before the 1997 handover, Britain's Governor Chris Patten enraged the Chinese Government by implementing measures to extend democratic elections in Hong Kong. Lee Kuan Yew weighed into the 'discussion' with his views about Asian values, strongly supported by President Mahathir of Malaysia, who was running his own version of a capitalist economy ruled by an autocratic government (and had been labelled 'recalcitrant' by Australian PM Keating!). But I recall that President Fidel Ramos of the Philippines was asked for his views about Asian values and replied with something along the lines that he thought that people anywhere in the world, given the choice, would prefer to vote for their political leaders themselves rather than have someone decide for them. This from a man who had been head of the armed forces and who many had expected would follow President Cory Aquino by staging a coup - instead he resigned from the Army and ran successfully for President in democratic elections.
Lee Kuan Yew was a remarkable man - whoever saw his tears when he announced the collapse of Malaysia including Singapore will ever forget that moment? - and modern Singapore compared with the British colony he inherited is his legacy. But with respect to Asian values, he was talking nonsense.
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Shan Jun Chang Apr 8, 2015

What blatant straw manning. Any careful perusal of evidence on Lee's ideas will he thought not that democracy was not right for Asia just as a matter of its culture, but that democracy was not right for Asia at that time and particular stage of development. It's important to remember the context in which he came to power. Singapore was described in one contemporary account as a "cesspool of squalor and degradation". It had just emerged from the horrors of Japanese occupation, with the systematic rape, repression, and racial discrimination that brought, and at the time at which it was given its independence by the British, was scarcely functioning as a state. Mr Lee's Singapore was undoubtedly authoritarian and repressive in many respects, but he never denied that. His reasoning was that the first test of the government of a developing country is its ability to provide for its peoples' economic and social security, the real universals. This meant delivering growth and employment to lift its people out of squalor, securing peoples' basic property rights and establishing a stable rule of law, and quelling racial unrest (and this was a real risk given that Singapore was and still is an ethnically diverse immigrant nation). Full-fledged democracy, freedom of the press etc. are the icing on the cake, so to speak, and could come after these basics had been delivered, as had happened in the Western European liberal democracies. After all, you're just less likely to care about freedom of the press if you're unemployed and struggling to feed yourself. Arguably, that time has come for Singapore, and Singaporeans (especially the younger generations), who until recently were perfectly happy with the stable rule and steady growth that their one-party state had delivered, are starting to demand more of the trappings of liberal democracy- the spectre of the colonial past and the "squalor" of just 50 years ago is fading. But that is something to be taken up with Mr Lee's son, who is not operating under the same constraints as his father was not very long ago.
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lt lee Apr 7, 2015

Actually, the world needs more Lee and his brand of Chinese/Asian values. Many American cities would definitely be better places and citizens happier people. Not criminals wanted by the authority. Presumably more lectures on democracy and human rights could also help. But who knows?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-robinson/the-shocking-finding-from-the-doj-ferguson_b_6858388.html
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In the city of Ferguson, nearly everyone is a wanted criminal.
That may seem like hyperbole, but it is a literal fact. In Ferguson -- a city with a population of 21,000 -- 16,000 people have outstanding arrest warrants, meaning that they are currently actively wanted by the police.
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Luckily, Asian Values are alive and well in parts of the world.
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Zsolt Hermann Apr 7, 2015

We stubbornly keep repeating the superiority of "liberal democracy" over anything else. We stubbornly keep 'exporting" it to regions not really appreciative of it.
And while on paper "liberal democracy" and "free market capitalism" looks like the perfect human system, in real life what we see is a spectacular failure threatening our present and future.

The problem is not with the system itself but with the human beings using it.
As long as we continue instinctively following our inherently self-serving, egoistic human nature it does not matter what we try, we will corrupt it sooner or later.

Solving the deepening global crisis, avoiding a probably nuclear Third World War, building a more predictable and sustainable global human society needs to start with a fundamental "re-programming" of the human being.

We need a completely new global, integral education program and a wholesale change in societal values in order to adapt each and every one of us to the completely interconnected and interdependent world we evolved into.

In such a world only through mutually complementing cooperation, making primary calculations for the benefit of the whole can we survive instead of self-serving calculations, ruthless and exploitative competition and success at the expense of others.
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kiers sohn Apr 6, 2015

Much ado about nothing. There's no point comparing a MAYOR of a city-state with a constant population over desecades to a full fledged nation. The US creams it's pants over LKY b/c he allowed his country to be a naval base.
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Matthew Guenther Apr 6, 2015

I disagree that Singapore is a sterile place. While this may have been true 20 or even 10 years ago, the pulse on the streets of Singapore is much more vibrant today. Young people (20-35 yrs) are more entrepreneurial than their parents. You can see this in number of new start-ups led by young people that are taking off. This is especially the case in the service industries such as IT, media, design, as well as R&D out of Singapore's many public-private research institutes that are being moved into practical applications. Today the young are much more daring in business ventures. This is supported by the government with various incentives to keep new businesses afloat during the crucial early years. Artistically Singapore might not compare to NYC, LA, or Paris, but there is an emerging art scene here too with local artist gaining regional recognition. The government recognized that there was a creativity problem in Singapore and has employed means to address it. Today's Singapore may not be able to rival Silicon Valley yet, but it's on its way to becoming a regional center of innovation and creativity.
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j. von Hettlingen Apr 5, 2015

Ian Buruma questions Lee Kuan Yew's "Asian values". Indeed, Lee couldn't have spoken for the whole of Asia, because the continent is huge and diverse - ethnically, culturally, linguistically and religiously. Lee could only speak of the "Asian values" that had transformed Singapore from a Third World backyard to one of the world's most propserous nations.
Lee Kuan Yew was a phenomenon and some leaders may try to emulate his leadership, without achieving the same goal, in the absence of a recipe for success. His was a right mixture of ingredients - Western administration, neo-Confucianism, high intelligence, unswervable determination - and last not least, a huge portion of luck.
What makes Lee important in Asia is that he is highly revered in China. He embodied a political system, in which capitalism and one-party system could go hand in hand. He tapped into Confucian values - respect for hierarchy, family and tradition. Moreover he asserted, how important it was to learn from history, accept it and move on. Under Xi Jinping, China seems to be trying to right the wrong, by rehabilitating Confuciusm, which was banned under the Cultural Revolution. Perhaps Beijing is trying to promote it as a possible solution to the country's 21st-Century dilemmas.
Many autocrats no doubt admire Lee's authoritarian rule, without resorting to physical violence, like - according to Buruma - Benito Mussolini and Augusto Pinochet. However cruel Pinochet's military junta had been, he was "admired" by Margaret Thatcher and Friedrich Hayek, as Chile's economy recovered and stability returned. Pinochet enjoyed domestic support, because he defended his actions as those of a patriot who rescued the country from chaos and the threat of Communism.
Likewise in a trade-off between civil liberties and prosperity, Singaporeans opted for the latter. Will they stick to status quo? The question is whether and when it would be "put to the test"! Bururma points out that South Korea and Taiwan had gone through their "democratic transformations in the 1980s, following the end of their versions of authoritarian capitalism, and are thriving more than ever". As Japan's example shows, democracy shouldn't do any "harm" to a country's economy!
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jagjeet sinha Apr 4, 2015

Indeed, the key to LKY mind lies in his peculiar admiration for The Catholic Church. The Sangha is the Third leg of the Buddhist Trinity - analogous to The Holy Spirit aka The Church and its role as the harbinger of the holy spirit. The Father and the Son are analogous to Dharma and Buddha - the other two legs of The Trinity. The Sangha is the only Multinational Organization older than The Church, perhaps the First MNC. The Sangha provided the ordered orchestration for The State to conduct its responsibilities. The DNA of The Sangha survived in China, as it was the basis for organizing Society. The CCP in China perhaps The Vatican they have always needed. LKY was playing to the DNA he knew had the answers. The Sangha contains the seeds of Democracy at its roots in India. The Sangha abhors Dynasty - as every one has equal rights to serve the congregation. China hence does not have Dynasty - as the DNA believes in The Sangha. LKY will be watching from heaven for transition in Singapore - Democracy is inevitable in China, as Dynasty has to give way.
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Procyon Mukherjee Apr 4, 2015

"Natural Obedience to higher authority", if that is what Lee's understanding of Asian values was built on, Buruma is wrong, as there is nothing remotely close to this in the values respected in the Indian sub-continent or Japan, and many larger parts of Asia. The obedience, if at all, or subservience, has been more imbibed during the imperialist rule that came from the series of invasions from the Western Part of Europe to Asia.

Asian values is more inclined to the virtues of inter-dependence, tolerance and humility, none of which is actually present in the values of the West.

Lee's success is a different matter, not in the deliverance as described by Buruma, particularly in the description of values that Lee stood for.
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