https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/sing...-has-been-beneficial-for-singapore/ar-BBHTosZ
The Guardian raises outrage with column arguing that colonialism has been beneficial for Singapore
Coconuts
1 hour ago
In a bold, scandalous claim made in a column for The Guardian, veteran English journalist Jeevan Vasagar proclaimed that colonialism — the very act defined as a full or partial occupation over another country for economic exploitation — can actually be regarded as a Very Good Thing, and that Singapore is a shining example.
Basically, he argues, Singapore is the prosperous, successful country it is now because it was ruled by British colonial masters in the past.
“Singapore shows us that colonialism can work”
Though the article’s headline might seem like an extensive argument for imperial rule, the piece itself is more about how Singapore’s post-colonial governance adapted certain elements from its colonial past. We made use of the “tools” left behind, like Sir Stamford Raffles’ economic liberalism, English as a lingua franca, and the English common law system.
“Its postcolonial rulers seized the advantages left them by the British empire and used them for the benefit of wider society; Singapore at independence was a profoundly unequal society in which many of its people were unskilled laborers living in slums,” Jeevan wrote.
“It is now a rich country in which most of the population lives in municipal housing while their children attend excellent state schools. There is a further crucial difference from the colonial past; Singapore now holds elections to choose its leaders. This was not the case until near the end of British rule, when the colony was allowed a measure of self-government.”
Nothing was mentioned about how colonialism enslaved natives and uprooted them other countries by force; how local traditions and cultures were decimated to make way for “Western values”; how it inculcated social conflicts within colonized countries; or how resources were stripped bare from colonies with only the mother country benefitting from it all.
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