Good Quotes —— Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going (2)

All men should be given equal chances in life, but we should not expect equal outcomes.――――Will the PAP Last?

The successful have forgotten that without the peace and stability that made their education, their job or their business opportunities possible, they would never have made it. But having made it, they think they made it on their own.――――Will the PAP Last?

[O]nce… you can speak untruths and go unpunished, you’re going to have many untruths and they are referred to repeatedly until, like Goebbels said, it begins to be believed.――――Will the PAP Last?

If [journalists] write something and the other side cannot reply, they sound very clever. But when they write and they get rebutted in a succinct and acerbic manner, then they look very small.――――Will the PAP Last?

The reality as societies developed is that leaders often come from the same social circles, educational backgrounds and even family trees. Lee pointed to the experiences of other countries, where leadership selection is equally elitist but masquerades under the guise of egalitarianism. Oxbridge graduates stock Whitehall in the United Kingdom, Ivy Leaguers in the United States, graduates of the grandes écoles in France, powerful oligarchs elsewhere in the world. Even in China, which pays ideological lip service to egalitarianism, many second-generation leaders are relatives and acquaintances of the country’s founding fathers.――――The Cream on Top

A reality is, however you start, however open and meritocratic the system is, as you develop, the population gets assorted and stratified. People get educated, the bright ones rise, they marry equally well-educated spouses. The result is their children are likely to be smarter than the children of those who are gardeners. Not that all of the children of gardeners or labourers are duds. Occasionally, two grey horses produce a white horse, but very few.――――The Cream on Top

Your mental capacity and your EQ and the rest of you, 70 to 80 per cent of that is genetic. It takes time for you to mature, that’s all. Twenty to 30 per cent is nurturing. That’s life.――――The Cream on Top

As for the argument that public office is about honour, not money, [Lee] has one word for it: hypocrisy. Politicians in Britain and the United States positioned themselves to profit handsomely later with book deals, lectures and consultancy services. It often led to leaders preoccupied with crafting “exit strategies”.――――The Cream on Top

Good Quotes —— Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going (1)

[N]o man can judge a person accurately if that person is superior than he is… Very seldom does an inferior person say, “He’s better than me.” Once you have weak people on top, the whole system slowly goes down. It’s inevitable.――――An 80-storey Building on Marshy Land

We are living in an adult world. Why do we have peace? Because it is not cost-free if you hit us. If you hit us we will hit you and the damage may be more on your side.――――An 80-storey Building on Marshy Land

That is how rational and pragmatic countries operate. We don’t have to love each other to work with each other. A convergence of interests does not erase emotions but can temper them.――――An 80-storey Building on Marshy Land

The global dominance of the United States means that liberal democracy has emerged as the standard against which all countries are most commonly measured… Some leaders might be inclined to pander to global public opinion by mouthing democratic platitudes.――――Will the PAP Last?

Lee and his successors have shown that a one-party dominant state with free elections――and not all the other accoutrements of democracy like a freewheeling media――can enjoy legitimacy… He also sees a more sinister reason for Western diatribes against Singapore――an unspoken fear that it could prove to be a viable alternative model for emerging countries, especially China.――――Will the PAP Last?

I don’t believe that democracy is the best form of government for all countries and will spread throughout the world. If it is, why are the Western countries so keen to force it down people’s throat? If liberal democracy is so superior, it will take over the world just like the market economy is definitely superior to planned economy and has taken over the whole world.――――Will the PAP Last?

My fundamental belief is that whatever your background, you should have an equal chance in life, in education, in health, in nutrition. So you may not be as well-fed with all the meat and vitamins as a wealthier person, but you should have enough to make sure that you’re not stunted, so you can perform and achieve your best in life. That’s the only way a society can grow. I am against a feudal society where your birth decides where you stay in the pecking order.――――Will the PAP Last?