THE way Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew sees it, the march of
globalisation is unavoidable.
And even if a country should block it, it will find itself
sidelined after a while, he predicted.
As it is, every economy, in varying degrees, is exposed to
globalisation and feeling its many unforeseen consequences.
The Americans, for example, are already unhappy. Outsourcing is
hitting not just their white-collar jobs, but also high-level
professional positions such as radiographers, accountants and
software programmers.
Mr Lee was responding to a question on how he saw globalisation
unfolding, during a dialogue with unionists to mark the NTUC's 45th
anniversary.
He replied by referring to a comment by former World Bank economic
adviser Joseph Stiglitz that whether a country benefits or loses
from globalisation depends on how it positions itself.
The Nobel prize-winning economist also noted, he said, that one
could not assume the developed countries would continue to support
globalisation. They might grow reluctant as more of their top end,
the white-collar professionals, lose their jobs.
Hence, the mood in the United States may change, and its leaders
may not want any more free trade agreements so other economies will
not grow so fast. In this way, they hope to protect their
jobs.
Mr Lee said that while the US could afford to do that because of
its size, Singapore could not take such a path. 'We will stagnate.
We will perish.'
But he believes the US will still have to open up. 'My own gut
instinct tells me in the end, it's unavoidable. If you don't do it
in America, you don't outsource, then the British will, the
Japanese will. You can block it for a while, but it then becomes
too high-cost. Your economy is not productive.'
Singapore's approach has been to manage the effects of
globalisation. 'There will be casualties along the way. It is the
job of the Government to try and manage and redress the balance as
best as we can... never make it equal, but we must try to alleviate
the dislocation.'
Straits Times 7 Sept
