There’s also artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth

[Confuseous]

About this strange monarchical illusion seeping through our democracy.

What is ‘natural aristocracy’? Is it a matter of how we breed sheep and jackasses? If there is ‘natural aristocracy’ may there be an ‘artificial aristocracy’?

Perhaps the democratically elected PM LHL was alluding to Thomas Jefferson’s : “… there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents…”

But if PM LHL was indeed alluding to Thomas Jefferson he should at least also quote this of him: “There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents….”

What was Thomas Jefferson’s solution to ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ aristocracy? “I think the best remedy is exactly that provided by all our constitutions, to leave to the citizens the free election and separation of the aristoi from the pseudo-aristoi, of the wheat from the chaff.”

So, ‘natural aristocracy’ is not self-promotion, in fact it is inevitably entwined with the citizenry. Sure, it is about meritocracy, it is about virtues and talents. But this ‘natural aristocracy’, at least from what I read of Jefferson is also about ethics.

The question then becomes, is the saga with Roy and Amos ethical as a conduct of government in order to instill respect? If they have earned it liked what PM LHL claimed, why the extra judicial process to uphold it? If ‘natural aristocracy’ is earned and respected, and it is a constitutional process and it is entwined to a electorate why not leave this political environment organic?

Unless it is not a ‘natural aristocracy’ but an ‘artificial’ one; one of incumbency, complacency, obfuscation, MSM ranking at 153 and world’s best paid politicians.

Second, about aristocracy, E.M. Forster said it best:
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/07/05/theres-also-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/

 

[Confuseous]

In April this year I received an invitation to an Institute of Policy Studies and Lee Kuan Yew School of Policy Studies Conference held to mark SG50 entitled “What Lies Ahead”. Predictably the State academics organising the conference anticipated no surprises in what lay ahead, as shown by the Conference line-up.

I reproduce below the main text of the invitation:

Dear Mr Jeyaretnam,

The Institute of Policy Studies and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (NUS), invite you to a conference to mark Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and NUS’ 110th anniversary.

Titled “Singapore at 50: What lies ahead?” (SG50+, in short), the conference will take place on 2 and 3 July 2015 at the Shangri-La Hotel. International and Singaporean thought leaders will discuss geopolitical, economic, environmental and governance trends that may affect the future of our world, and shape how Singapore and Singaporeans can be future-ready.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be the Guest of Honour at the conference gala dinner and dialogue on 2 July. The dialogue will be moderated by Dr Fareed Zakaria, the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. The conference programme on 3 July includes a lunch dialogue with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and a discussion on the topic of governance between Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and former UK Prime Minister, Sir John Major. We hope to host up to 700 public, private, community and student leaders at the conference.

We would like to personally invite you to register to attend the conference. Registration details are in the column on the right.

We look forward to you joining us at this special event.

With warm regards,

Janadas Devan
Director
Institute of Policy Studies

This is how I replied:

Dear Sir,

You have managed to arrange a programme without one Singaporean speaker outside the Government and the PAP.

I am at a loss to understand how this event can then be entitled SG50:What Lies Ahead

The nearest parallel would be a conference hosted by the Soviet Union in 1989 with only speakers from the Communist Party invited.

We will not be attending particularly as you have the effrontery to charge $1500 to hear PAP propaganda that I can read in the State media every day.

Yours sincerely

Kenneth Jeyaretnam

My views on the conference have been borne out by the reports of Lee Hsien Loong’s remarks during the dialogue with Fareed Zakaria from CNN (whom numerous publications including Time, CNN, Slate and Newsweek have accused at different times of plagiarism or failing to attribute correctly). I quote from the TOC article:

https://sonofadud.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/sg50.jpeg