Стр. 21 - V

Author : V. Surguladze
Master of Economics, Candidate of Science (Philosophy), Senior Research Fellow, Russian Institute for
Strategic Studies (RISS)
THE GLOBAL ATTENTION to the reforms of the architect
of Singapore's "economic miracle" is easily explained by the coun-
try's socio-economic successes. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime
minister of Singapore, is an iconic figure in the modern world. In
many developing and industrial countries, he is regarded as a true
economic and political guru.
Although Singapore is located in a region where corruption is
standard practice, it is among the top ten countries with the lowest
level of corruption, although in recent years the country has seen
a slight drop in this indicator as it slipped from fifth to seventh
place in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International. Sin-
gapore is also among the leaders in terms of quality of life, ranking ninth in the Human Devel-
opment Index (HDI).
IN CONTRAST to liberal Western countries, the Singapore government openly declares that
one of the state's tasks is to educate citizens. In today's world of aggressive "Western values,"
Singapore attracts attention by its government's efforts not only to enhance the material well-
being of society, but also to educate it.
SINGAPORE'S EXPERIENCE in the area of ethnic policy is extremely interesting. There are
many languages in Singapore, including five official ones: Mandarin Chinese, English, Hokkien,
Tamil, and Malay; the largest ethnic groups are Chinese (74.2% of the population), Malays
(13.3%) and Indians (9.2%). 18 The state has been doing its utmost to strengthen the national
identity of Singaporeans as a single nation and has achieved some successes in this area. The
central theme of Singapore's state ideology is as follows: We are all different, but we are all cit-
izens of Singapore and we love our country.
The experience of Singapore is instructive as an example of successful policy in maintaining
ethnic peace in a multiethnic state, an effective fight against corruption, skillful attraction of for-
eign investment, a high level of healthcare and education, and very wise social engineering and
public administration.
LEE KUAN YEW'S DEATH once again raises the eternal question about the role of the indi-
vidual in the social process.
The non-acceptance of the new prime minister and the political system of Singapore in the
global liberal community is in large part biased and superficial, and the reason for this is an ad-
herence to the stereotypes propagated by the United States and its allies.
Singapore's political culture is characterized by an extremely cautious, balanced and pragmatic
foreign policy. U.S. Navy ships call at ports and docks in Singapore, but at the same time it has
friendly relations with China.
http://interaffairs.ru
The Ideology of a Hard-Working Nation: Lee Kuan Yew and the
Lessons of Singapore's "Economic Miracle"