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Financial Freedom Is Merely Organized Common Sense
The Basis of Singapore’s Success
Judging governments on four metrics
“With few exceptions, democracy has not brought good government to new developing countries… What Asians value may not necessarily be what Americans and Europeans value. Westerners value the freedoms and liberties of the individual As an Asian of Chinese cultural background, my values are for a government which is honest, effective and efficient.”
Lee Kuan Yew Founding father of Singapore
Democracy doesn’t work everywhere.
There is little debate about that. It should I suppose, but it does not. Democracy is very complex. It involves what Charlie Munger calls, “taking turns.” That is not always an easy thing and many people try to take advantage of the nature of the system. Jumping lines is an easy example. Cheating, fraud, even theft are antithetical to the idea of democracy. Yet they exist.
Yew’s three values
- Honest government. The idea is a given, yet when I asked some associates, no one seemed to know what that even means. I am not sure I know. We agree that theft, fraud, destroying records and the like, is unacceptable. Does classifying failures as top secret, strike you as honest? Helping friends and punishing enemies? Rewards for donations. Not likely. In some ways, it is not possible to be honest. The population in countries larger than Singapore are so diverse, one cannot always expect the truth to be understood or believed. Should you say what they understand, even it is is incomplete? May e, but truth should still be the beginning point. For most of us, objective would be good.
- Effective government. Effective is about doing the right things. Someone must decide what they are and that is a blemish on the idea. I doubt we could agree on the rightness of everything government does. Still a little thought would convince us that creating rules surrounding how dark a restaurant can toast bread is a problem not of the same consequence as the delivery of education. Narrowing the scope of government and solving problems based on priorities would appear more effective.
- Efficient government. Efficiency is the other side of effective. It is doing things right. When effective is not considered, it is very difficult for governments, business or even individuals to be efficient. With no sense of what is important, process becomes more exciting that outcome. People work very hard to accomplish little of value. How debilitating for everyone is that? Peter Drucker, “Nothing is so wasteful as doing a job well that should not be done at all.”
Where it leads
In newly developing pseudo-democracies all three conditions are missing and the democracy idea fails. Democracy looks easy enough, but does not work well without careful attention and nurturing. Democracy is difficult.
I don’t think Yew’s three points should be a stretch goal. I think in developed countries, we have come to accept that none of the three matter much to today’s governments. There is lip-service to each, but little more. The pursuit of power overrides common sense.
A new beginning
Honesty must lead. Without honesty, effectiveness is an ideology. Without honesty, efficiency will be unmeasured or faked.
How do we get honesty to happen? Maybe we cannot, but we definitely cannot without trying. In any coming election pay attention to character instead of charisma.
Don Shaughnessy arranges life insurance for people who understand the value of a life insured estate. He can be reached at The Protectors Group, a large insurance, employee benefits, and investment agency in Peterborough, Ontario.
In previous careers, he has been a partner in a large international public accounting firm, CEO of a software start-up, a partner in an energy management system importer, and briefly in the restaurant business.
Please be in touch if I can help you. don@moneyfyi.com 866-285-7772
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