In a settled and
established society, law appears to be a precursor of order… But the hard
realities… can be more accurately described if the phrase were inverted to
‘order and law’, for without order, the operation of law is impossible.———Chapter 8: The Future of Democracy
[W]hen a state of
increasing disorder and defiance of authority cannot be checked by the rules
then existing… drastic rules have to be forged to maintain order so that the
law can continue to govern human relations. The alternative is to surrender
order for chaos and anarchy.———Chapter 8:
The Future of Democracy
Human beings,
regrettable though it may be, are inherently vicious and have to be restrained
from their viciousness.———Chapter 9: How
Lee Kuan Yew Thinks
We may have conquered
space, but we have not learned to conquer our own primeval instincts and
emotions that were necessary for our survival in the Stone Age, not in the
space age.———Chapter 9: How Lee Kuan Yew
Thinks
It is assumed that all
men and women are equal and should be equal… But is equality realistic?… One of
the facts of life is that no two things are ever equal, either in smallness or
in bigness. Living things are never equal. Even in the case of identical twins,
one comes out before the other and takes precedence over the other.———Chapter 9: How Lee Kuan Yew Thinks
[T]he unwisdom of
powerful intellects, including Albert Einstein, [was that] they believed that a
powerful brain can devise a better system and bring about more ‘social justice’
than what historical evolution, or economic Darwinism, has been able to work
out over the centuries.———Chapter 9: How
Lee Kuan Yew Thinks
You can read about [a
good idea], but it is irrelevant if you do not relate it to yourself.———Chapter 9: How Lee Kuan Yew Thinks