Thinking Space
When I first arrived in Singapore nearly 20 years ago, I first felt a lot of cultural impact. As the family settled down, I also realized that a greater political impact also had an intuitive and practical political ecology in Singapore's local political ecology.Feel.Coincidentally, the house I bought is located in the Deyi District of Hongmao Bridge Section.Since moving in, I know that if there is something, you can go directly to the people's clubs who are away from home for two minutes to seek assistance.
Like other constituencies, one night every week, there will be a candidate member waiting for the parents of the voters.Different complaints from the public and private sector and neighborhood disputes have actually experienced practical difficulties in the family. Either resolves on the spot, or the members of the members are written to the relevant departments.Therefore, in Singapore, the people directly faced by the people are not faced with a country's prime minister or minister, but the public opinion representatives selected by their own votes.
Therefore, our residents of Deyi District often encounter Premier Li himself intentionally or unintentionally, from the celebration of the New Year, to the National Day celebration, and the residential group of residents in the Spring Festival every year.Whether coming to Deyi District to participate in trees in the spring, accompany the residents to enjoy the moon in autumn, or in the district Pasar and cooked food centers, there are always various occasions, which will make people inadvertently see the prime minister.
My child is not a prestigious school in elementary school, but because it is the neighboring elementary school in Deyi District, the end of the semester every year is also awarded by Premier Li himself.This is really a particularly tiring job, because each class has a variety of names awards, and the awards activities will last for several hours each year, and Premier Li can only stand and take a group photo all the time.After the award is completed, the school will provide free refreshments in the cafeteria. Parents run down to eat and drink. Our parliamentarians must accompany their parents to take a photo in the crowded cafeteria.I often think that parliamentarians are really a hardship.
There are many elderly people in Deyi District, so in recent years, it is clear that many service facilities for the elderly can be seen.
What is democracy?It is actually the right to participate in public and social services. It is the choice of national management personnel. If it is implemented, it is the right to vote.Of course, there are many defects in democracy. Compared with "concentrated strength to do major events", it is even more efficient.In many important decisions, they will be raised with each other because of the left and right of public opinion, and they are constrained by each other due to institutional restrictions.Even if there is a decision, it takes a lot of energy to explain to the people to understand.Popularism will also use various tools to please voters and make the country's great government go astray.Politicians are also easy to implement short -term results in order to please public opinion, so it is difficult to implement the long -term policy of the people's short -term interests.
However, the advantage of democracy is far more than concentration.Because when power expansion is not restricted by votes and public opinion, those who have power will definitely expand power infinitely until the contradiction between power and public opinion is endangered.Power also has the characteristics of selfishness and arrogance. It will always only preach its correctness and greatness without knowing the reflection.
In Singapore, taking Premier Lee Hsien Loong as an example, during the 2011 election, he apologized for his dissatisfaction with the government's governance; in the past few years, he apologized for his family disputes.In the past three years of the epidemic, the government has revised its own decisions at any time.This humble attitude does not necessarily show that the morality of the Singaporean's governors is higher than that of the governors in other countries, but it shows that each Singapore leader is placed in an effective constraint mechanism.
The natural defects of democracy determine that once the people can reach a consensus, the efficiency will be higher; otherwise, if in a split society, the shortcomings of low democratic efficiency will be infinitely enlarged.At this point, Singapore actually has a natural disadvantage. The millions of people are distinguished by different languages, religions, and ethnic groups, each with different benefits.Therefore, in the case of continuing to maintain democratic advantages, how to seek commonality and consensus among the local people, and keeping the whole people's unity at all times is the key to national governance.
In addition, we should also avoid the sacredness and ideology of democracy itself, and we should associate with the countries of any other system with a pragmatic attitude.Democracy should be the most convenient tool in the current situation, not the goal itself.We use the democratic system to solve the problem of people's livelihood in Singapore. It ultimately serves Singapore's economic and social progress, rather than becoming an independent ideological ultimate appeal.Democracy is also used to avoid tyranny, safeguard the personal rights and interests of Singaporeans, and make everyone's morality, human nature, and equality, which can be maximized and maintained. That's all.
The author is a local literary and historical enthusiast and religious researcher
