This is an essay assignment for the module PS1101: Introduction to Politics.
Prompt: In post independent Singapore, there has
never been any major street level protest or rebellion against the state, with
the result that Singapore has enjoyed a remarkable degree of political
stability and social order. What do you think
explains this absence of protests or rebellions? Discuss by drawing on theories, concepts, or
models you have learnt thus far.
Singapore enjoys a relatively high GDP per capital (Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, 2012) and is considered one of the best countries to live
in (Kekic, 2012) due to various determinants, such as low rates of crime and
corruption. Despite these factors, research suggest that Singapore is one of
the unhappiest nations globally as Singaporeans are least likely to report
feeling positive emotions (Clifton, 2012). An article suggests that conflict
will ensue as a result of unhappiness due to various reasons (Peace Pledge
Union, n.d.). Given the statistics, there should be conflictual rebellions and
protests (R&P) occuring amongst Singaporeans. However, there is relatively
absence of R&P in Singapore (Han, 2012). Why is there an absence of R&P
in Singapore? I will discuss Karl Marx’s concept of ideological domination to
explain the absence of R&P in Singapore, as opposed to Mancur Olson’s game
theory and the state’s coercive functions as argued by Charles Tilly.
I contend that ideological domination (ID), which is further perpetuated by habitual compliance, is
the key factor for the absence of R&P in Singapore. Ideological domination
is defined as “controlling the minds of the otherwise rebellious subordinate
classes by leading [them] into believing in…the legitimacy or naturalness of
the prevailing exploitative capitalist system” (Nishizaki(A), n.d.).
This essay examines two sources of ID, specifically material
benefits and national identity in Singapore. Fostering a strong sense of
national identity can be identified through local institutions. This essay
discusses national identity as evident in a) schools and b) religion and
politics. In primary and secondary schools, Singapore mandates the reciting of
the National Pledge (Wei & Saparudin, n.d.). Since the introduction of the
Compulsory Education Act in 2003 (Ministry of Education(A), n.d.), every child
are required to attend formal education at primary and lower secondary level. Every
child would thus learn the National Pledge and made to internalize elements of
the Pledge, such as “build a democratic
society” and “achieve happiness, prosperity… for our nation” (Wei &
Saparudin, n.d.) for an extended period. Moreover, there is a strong focus on
nurturing individuals to care for the family and nation, such as “Civics and
Moral Education” and “Character and Citizenship Education” (Ministry of
Education(B), n.d.) in mainstream school curriculum. Values from both the
National Pledge and school curriculum may become internalized by school
students, thus instilling a sense of false consciousness, that is, the false idea that the capitalist system is
legitimate (Nishizaki(A), 2014), in students. As such, the state has
successfully led students to believe in the importance of family unity,
creating in peace in society and helping Singapore prosper instead of R&P
against the capitalist system itself. Emeritus Senior Minister (Tan, n.d.) Goh
Chok Tong’s proposition of a “Shared Values” framework in 1991 serve as a key
ideology in which various religious faiths adopt. Some of these values include
“Nation before community and society above self” and “Consensus, not conflict”,
all of which serve as ideological underpinnings for the beliefs of main
religious (Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam) groups. According to Pew
Research (2014), Singapore score highest on the Religious Diversity Index with
only 16% of the population without religious affiliation. Clearly, a majority
of Singaporeans are exposed to religious teachings underpinned by the
ideological framework. Similar to education, majority of civilians who are devoted
followers may internalize the “Shared Values” ideology and develop a false
consciousness that the state wants instilled in civilians because of a strong
association to religion as part of their social identity. Such false
consciousness compels civilians not to R&P against the state.
The provision of material benefits given to Singaporeans by
the state is another form of ID. This essay examines the provision of material
benefits through state-issued subsidies for low-income individuals. For
example, the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) scheme under the Ministry of
Health aims to help lower-income Singaporean families cope with rising costs of
healthcare (Community Health Assist Scheme, n.d.). Initially, these families
may be unhappy and blame the state for their low-income situation. However, the
provision of state help through subsidies such as CHAS makes the lower-income
individuals become satisfied with the state. This creates false consciousness
amongst individuals, making them believe in state legitimacy and impeling them not
to R&P against the state.
As conceptualized by Michael Foucault, the continual
delivering of national identity and material benefits may result in the
phenomenon of habitual compliance amongst Singaporeans to refrain from R&P(Nishizaki(B),
2014). There is constant reiteration of national identity through yearly
traditions, such as Singapore’s National Day Parade, and local television
productions focusing on family unity and peace (Ministry of Social and Family
development, 2014). In the provision of material benefits, such practices are
observed in every sector. No matter where we belong or what jobs we do, we
still receive the same benefits. This reinforcement of material benefits
compels us to believe in the legitimacy of the state and impel us not to R&P.
In conclusion, the absence of R&P in Singapore is due to ideological
domination that is further perpetuated by habitual compliance through various
levels that surround every individual.
Another reason for the absence of R&P in Singapore is
due to the coercive functions of the state. State formation, consisting of the
extractive, regulative and coercive functions,
occurred as a result of war preparation (Nishizaki(B), 2014). In
Singapore, the extractive function is executed through practices such as the
yearly payment of income tax (financial resources) and mandated conscription of
Singaporean males into National Service (human resources). Successful
extraction of resources required the state’s regulation of civilians. Regulatory
practices, such as the issuing of identification cards, passports, as well as
assigned housing addresses, is evident in Singapore. To deter civilians from
R&P against the extractive and regulative functions, the coercive function
was introduced to locate and punish non-compliant civilians.
There are two attributes of this coercive function. The
first attribute is the formation of states bodies like the judiciary system and
the police force. Tilly (1990) contends that the formation of “uniformed
salaried, bureaucratic police forces” (p.76) was resultant from the necessity
for civilians to ensure timely payment of monetary goods without resistance. These
systems serve to maintain order and deter crimes that may result in R&P.
Governmental and state bodies, such as the Singapore Police Force and the
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), exist in
Singapore to ensure orderly behavior amongst civilians. Legal sanctions, such
as the Penal Code, mandate the criminalization of undesired behaviors such as
unlawful assembly resulting in R&P (Attorney General’s Chambers, 2007).
The second attribute, according to Tilly (1990), involves “[making]
it criminal … for most civilians to bear arms… made it seem normal for armed
agents of the state to confront unarmed civilians” (p. 69). Under the Arms
Offences Act in Singapore, individuals are required to be licensed for
possession of arms whereas only members of certain state institutions, such as
the SAF, can carry arms without licenses (Attorney General’s Chambers(B), 2008).
As the state established control and monopoly over means of violence, civilians
are deterred from R&P due to their lack of means of force as well as fear
of legal sanctions. To extend this argument, the concept of an “Iron Cage” by
Max Weber is considered. According to Weber the bureaucratization and
regulation of the state will control our lives (Nishizaki(B), n.d.). This
results in the standardization of compliant behavior across civilians, which
may likely lead to the absence of R&P.
However, the coercive functions of Singapore is not
sufficient to account for the absence of R&P. According to the assistant
commissioner of police Ng Guat Ting (2014), there was a drop in crime rates to
29,668 cases in 2013 from 31,015 cases in 2012 due to an “increased awareness
and education of crime” instead of emphasis on physical punishments (Kwara,
2014). Awareness and education, by definition, are neither tools of physical
nor legal coercion. Instead, ideological domination is evident as individuals
are constantly educated on the causes and consequences of crime. Through this
constant reinforcement, individuals may internalize crime as something
incompatible with their character and possibly, may refrain from criminal
behavior which could result in R&P. Hence, I contend that ID is still the
key factor to account for the absence of R&P in Singapore, as opposed to the
coercive functions of the state.
The concept of game theory (Olson, 1965., as cited in
Nishizaki(B), 2014) is another factor that explains the absence of R&P. Collective
action, through the cooperation of the majority or all of involved citizens, is
essential for a R&P to occur. The benefits of successful R&P are in
nature non-excludable and non-divisible, so uninvolved citizens can reap the
benefits from a successful R&P too. Due to the nature of the benefits, the
rationality of people may prevent them from working collectively, thus
resulting in the dilemma known as collective action problem. The assumption of
humans as rational beings asserts self-centredness and benefit-maximising
tendencies as key attributes of rationality. Thus, people may decide,
strategically, whether to become involve in collective action to start a
rebellion or not. This essay attempts to apply game theory to unhappiness of
education system amongst Singapore students.
Singaporean students often complain about the characteristics
of Singapore’s education system, such as rote learning, as placing undue
emphasis on academic grades just to secure well-paying careers, instead of on keen interest or passion in knowledge
(Lay, 2012; Matthews, 2013). According to game theory, an ideal world would be
one in which a majority of students would cooperate and protest for education
reforms. However, the rationality of Singaporean students would result in two
other scenarios.The first scenario dictates that I, as a student, participate
in the collective action (CA) and protest but other students do not. If the CA
succeeds, education reforms will occur and every student benefits regardless of
participation. The issue of free-rider problem, then, becomes evident. If the
CA fails, I may be subjected to legal sanctions whereas uninvolved students will
not be affected. In another scenario, other students participate in the CA to
protest whereas I do not. If the CA succeeds, I stand to gain despite non-participation.
If the CA fails, students who participated suffer sanctions from the state
whereas I do not due to non-participation. In considering the above two
scenarios as well as the rational nature of humans, every individual would
desire for the second scenario, and shun the first scenario. This would finally
result in the collective action problem whereby every student do not
participate protesting for education reforms, thus resulting in the absence of
R&P in Singapore.
In recent times, however, there is CPF protests by bloggers
Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui (Mokhtar, 2014). According to Opp (2001), a critique
of the game theory states that Olson overemphasizes material benefits and neglects
social benefits that can result from successful CA and political protests. As
such, these series of CPF protest that happened could have been attributed to Han
Hui Hui’s motivation by social benefits, such as opportunities to get citizens’
attention (Opp, 2001) in addition to the material benefits of getting back CPF
contributions. Moreover, these CPF protests may have actually occurred due to ID. The protesters champion for the return of
CPF funds from the government, instead of protesting against the capitalist
system itself. It is noted that these protesters are ultimately operating
within the capitalist system to get their material benefits as mentioned
earlier. This is indicative of a false consciousness prevalent amongst the
protesters. Thus, I contend that ID still serve as a key factor to account for
the absence of R&P in Singapore, as opposed to Olson’s game theory.
CONCLUSION
This essay examines the absence of R&P in Singapore due
to ideological domination, coercive functions of the state and game theory. Key
ideas in each concept are discussed, and critiques in game theory and the
coercive functions of the state are highlighted. However, I assert that ideological domination is the
key reason for the absence of R&P because it can account for the critiques
of the other two concepts.
Reference
Nishizaki, Y(A). PS1101E/GEK1003, Lecture Slide (Rebellions
and revolutions against the modern capitalist state), #4, 31 October 2014.
Nishizaki, Y(B).
PS1101E/GEK1003, Lecture Slide (The modern state: Historical origin and
evolution), #2, 31 October 2014.
Tilly, C. (1990).
Coercion, Capital and European Sttes, AD 990 – 1990. USA: Basil Blackwell.
