Mr Archidoron, [numbers reflect position of paragraphs in your
previous post]
1) point taken. yes, I see the difference. Pardon me, but I
thought, from teh content and tone of your post, that you were
supporting that. Becuase what I read of what you wrote reminds me
strongly of govt propaganda.
2) I agree we do not have natural resources i.e. physical capital.
But I'm beginning to think that unlike what PAP has been
brainwashing us to think for the last 40 yrs, human
capital/resource is not our only resource. We have cultural capital
as well, a rich history beyond PAP years. If only we could use
that.. Unions have tor einvent themselves, just like everything
else, including religious bodies and the government, and when I
talk about reinvention of government, i mean doing a change to the
administrative system, and not merely shuffling faces between civil
service, private sector management and cabinet. But when you
reinvent yourself, you still need to stay true to your original
aim, 'cos tt is the purpose of reinvention: to allow yourself to
achieve your aim more easily. Reinvention does not mean changing
your basic thrust. the fact is, we would not have to depend so much
on foreign investment, if we built up our domestic industries.
That, I think, was one of the flaws in PAP's otherwise-perfect
economic development plan. They went into a frenzy inviting and
selling Singapore to MNCs, such that by today Singapore has become
the slave of all the MNCs it hired. A nation is not defined by a
Parliament House, a set of ministerial buildings, and the Istana.
It is defined as the community of people within a particular
geographical region, and a community is made up of individuals.
Because of this very elementary fact, I have stopped believing in
the slogan "nation above society, society above self", at least in
its first part, because both are synonymous; it's pure tautology,
unless of course the govt is trying to make itself
semi-divine.
3) I don't blame you for your fear of "traditional unions". That's
what we are told constantly over and over again by Straits Times or
other government agents, or in school textbooks (if you're a pre-NS
student like I am). But let's take a look at the real world in the
21st Century, not in the 1960s and 1970s. More specifically, let's
look at Scandinavia. In Finland and Norway, workers are allowed to
strike, boycott and so on and so forth, but yet those two countries
have the highest levels of industrial peace throughout the
continent. These methods usually do not get beyond the negotiating
table. And I have not read about investors leaving these two
countries yet. In fact, these two countries have favourable
comments from investors! No armageddon so far... Besides, employers
know that a productive workforce is essential for commercial
success, and satisfying workers' wants will usually lead to
improved productivity.
4) And after all that, how do you think unions should reinvent
themselves?
the pikamaster
