Instigator / Pro
0
1294
rating
75
debates
18.0%
won
Topic
#1408

Singapore is a successful example of Socialism

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Winner
0
1

After 1 vote and with 1 point ahead, the winner is...

oromagi
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
5
Time for argument
Three days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Winner selection
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
1
1922
rating
117
debates
97.44%
won
Description

From the State owning most of the land, most of the housing, and a big percentage of the economy in sovereign wealth funds and state holding companies Singapore is exactly what 19th century market socialists like John Stewart Mills had in mind https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/03/09/how-capitalist-is-singapore-really/ The Singaporean state owns 90 percent of the country’s land. Remarkably, this level of ownership was not present from the beginning. In 1949, the state owned just 31 percent of the country’s land. It got up to 90 percent land ownership through decades of forced sales, or what people in the US call eminent domain.

The Singaporean state does not merely own the land. They directly develop it, especially for residential purposes. Over 80 percent of Singapore’s population lives in housing constructed by the country’s public housing agency HDB. The Singaporean government claims that around 90 percent of people living in HDB units “own” their home. But the way it really works is that, when a new HDB unit is built, the government sells a transferable 99-year lease for it. The value of that lease slowly declines as it approaches the 99-year mark, after which point the lease expires and possession of the HDB unit reverts back to the state. Thus, Singapore is a land where almost everyone is a long-term public housing tenant.

Then there are the state-owned enterprises, which they euphemistically call Government-linked Companies (GLCs). Through its sovereign wealth fund Temasek, the Singaporean government owns a large share (20% or more) of 20 companies (2012 figure). Together these companies make up 37% of the market capitalization of the Singaporean stock market. The state also owns a large share of 8 real estate investment trust (REIT) companies (2012 figure), which they call GLREITs. The value of the GLREITs make up 54% of the country’s total REIT market.

The sovereign wealth fund Temasek doesn’t just own domestic assets. It also is invested broadly throughout the world, especially in other Asian countries. In March of last year, Temasek had a net portfolio value of S$275 billion, which is equal to around 62% of the country’s annual GDP. To put this figure in more familiar terms, Temasek’s total holdings are equivalent to if the US government built a $12.4 trillion wealth fund.

Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t generally associate state ownership of the means of production with capitalism. One way to see whether libertarians or conservatives actually think Singapore’s system is uber-capitalistic is to imagine how they would respond to someone who ran a campaign in the US aimed at bringing the country up to the Singaporean ideal.

A Few Admiring Words for “Crypto-Socialist” SingaporeMalaysia gained independence from the UK in 1957, then Singapore was maneuvered into joining the Federation of Malaya in 1963. However, it was expelled two years later.

Singapore shall forever be a sovereign democratic and independent nation, founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of her people in a more just and equal society.Now, more than five decades later, Singapore is acknowledged as the country with the highest quality of life in Asia, and one of the highest in the world. It has strong and effective government, extremely low corruption rates, and some of the best social policies on Earth.

It is also, wrongly, perceived by many in the West as an ‘extremely capitalist’, business-oriented nation.

About time to ‘re-visit’ Singapore!

What has been achieved here since independence? What was the dream, the vision of Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), the country’s first Prime Minister, who governed with an iron fist but also with great foresight, determination and compassion?

Is Singapore really a ‘Mecca’ of capitalism, or is it, perhaps, a crypto-Communist or at least a socialist country; a ‘ban Communism but do it their way’ kind of nation?

Yes, the country is ‘transparent’, ‘open for business’, a great ‘magnet for foreign companies’. But investment does not disappear in deep pockets of local elites; instead everyone benefits here. And the government decides who is welcomed and who is not, and in which direction the country should be developing. Singapore is a curious hybrid of a controlled and planned economy, and of what is known as ‘free market’.https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/09/a-few-admiring-words-for-crypto-socialist-singapore/

econimics has nothing to do with human rights you engage in an argument or irelevancy

human rights record is irelevant we arent debating human rights we are debating economics

singapore has no oil of its own

Singapore is the pricing centre and leading oil trading hub in Asia. The oil industry makes up 5 per cent of Singapore's GDP, with Singapore being one of the top three export refining centres in the world. In 2007 it exported 68.1 million tonnes of oil. The oil industry has led to the promotion of the chemical industry as well as oil and gas equipment manufacturing.

According to the Human Rights Watch, due to its role as a financial hub for the region, Singapore has continually been criticised for reportedly hosting bank accounts containing ill-gotten gains of corrupt leaders and their associates, including billions of dollars of Burma's state gas revenues hidden from national accounts.[74] Singapore has attracted assets formerly held in Swiss banks for several reasons, including new taxes imposed on Swiss accounts and a weakening of Swiss bank secrecy. Credit Suisse, the second largest Swiss bank, moved its head of international private banking to Singapore in 2005.

Singaporeans are ranked second in the world for per capita gambling losses $891.16 per person per year. Singapore ranks third in the world for gambling revenues per number of tourists. 44% of all Singaporeans gambled in 2014. If you look at all those famous Singapore skyline pics those are casinos lining the waterfront

https://img.theculturetrip.com/768x432/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gf70r2-1.jpg

singaoe has no oil or gambling and is known the world over for honest banking btw

both chinas use singapore as a model to folow

Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t generally associate state ownership of the means of production with capitalism. One way to see whether libertarians or conservatives actually think Singapore’s system is uber-capitalistic is to imagine how they would respond to someone who ran a campaign in the US aimhttps://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/03/09/how-capitalist-is-singapore-really/

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@billbatard

Ill be scoring 2 points off you soon :)
Expect retorts when jabbing at other people. Particularly those who love their speech.

25% i meant 25% not 225

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@Nemiroff

lol said the man with a 0% victory rate so far i have won one debate, i'm learning, you just wait.. i'm only getting stranger learning from mistakes

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@billbatard

Im sure many of the 330million Americans can.
Nice win/loss record. Those map skills are really helping!

https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/03/09/how-capitalist-is-singapore-really/

can you even find Singapore on a map yanks?