The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) will hold its annual flagship Singapore Perspectives (SP) conference on 26 January 2015. The first in a series of events by IPS to commemorate Singapore’s 50th year of independence, the theme of SP2015 is “Choices” where we consider what roots us to this nation and defines us as a people. Singapore Perspective 2015 - Panel IV: "Choices" - Debate: Pragmatism The immediate concern after independence was to secure the livelihoods of all Singaporeans. To achieve this, the government embarked on a pragmatic strategy to develop Singapore into a thriving global economy.
Today, Singapore has achieved a high standard of living in terms of its GDP. However, increasing economic volatility and stagnating income for significant segments of the workforce have fuelled unhappiness and frustration amongst the electorate. Consequently, some have argued that Singapore must now look beyond material wealth and focus on the well-being of its citizens. How valid is this argument that Singapore must move beyond traditional measures of “success” and focus more on the quality of life that its citizens experience? Should the government modify its social compact with the people in light of changing aspirations and increasing pluralism in society? Is pragmatism necessarily soulless? Can man live by bread alone? And can the soul thrive without bread?
This panel will approach these questions by debating the motion: “This Conference resolves that pragmatism remains important and should be retained as our governing philosophy.” Although the defining features of what it means to be Singaporean may be amorphous, one thing is certain: we may have become Singaporeans by accident 50 years ago, but we remain Singaporeans today by choice. In particular, we will consider the key choices we have made in three arenas — politics, economy and society — over the last 50 years.
Speakers, drawn from among Singapore’s public intellectuals, will contemplate: the choices our founding leaders and pioneer generation had to make in order to overcome the obstacles that a newly independent nation-state faced; what would have been our fate if they had made different choices; and whether the choices they made are still relevant today. As in the past, Singapore Perspectives provides a platform for close to 800 leaders in their fields and interested members of the public to look at the dynamic challenges that Singapore will face in the coming years. We hope that by building bridges between different individuals, we can promote an exchange of views and encourage the emergence of better solutions to policy challenges.
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Web Site: www.lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/event/singapore-perspectives-2015-choices
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