Disavowing Liberalism – A View on the Evolving ‘Political Economy’ of Singapore
NUS Press proudly presents a book talk by Professor Chua to introduce his new book, Liberalism Disavowed: Communitarianism and State Capitalism in Singapore (NUS Press, 2017).
In his talk, Professor Chua will elaborate the following argument from the book.
In an era where isolationists and nationalists appear to be increasingly assertive across the globe, particularly in liberal Western democracies, Singapore is frequently held up as an example of the success of a thriving free market economy.
Yet the cliché of a thriving free market economy does not sufficiently explain the political legitimacy and longevity of the ruling party’s parliamentary power. To fully explain the ruling party’s political staying power, one needs to return to its social democratic beginnings and examine the underpinnings of some Singaporean political and economic institutions, specifically the national public housing programme and the very sizeable state sector constituted by government-linked corporations and two sovereign wealth funds.
MEET THE SPEAKER
Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore/
Acting Head of Urban Studies, Yale-NUS College
Professor Chua Beng Huat, a Singaporean obtained his PhD from York University, Canada. He has held visiting professorships at universities in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Australia and the US. |