Op-Ed

Is Democracy Overrated?

Published

10 years ago

March 30, 2015

By Lekan Oguntoyinbo
NNPA Columnist

Long before China and India became the economic wonders of Asia, there was Singapore, a small, diverse country with no natural resources that took the audacious step of breaking away from the Malaysian federation in 1965 to become an independent nation.

Lee Kuan Yew, the new country’s founding father, knew that the odds of survival were clearly against them when they decided to go it alone 50 years ago.

“To understand Singapore and why it is what it is, you’ve got to start off with the fact that it’s not supposed to exist and cannot exist,” Lee said in a 2007 interview with the New York Times. “To begin with, we don’t have the ingredients of a nation, the elementary factors: a homogeneous population, common language, common culture and common destiny.”

Still, Lee played the odds. By the time he stepped down as prime minister in 2000, he had transformed Singapore into an economic powerhouse, one of the world’s most efficient countries and, arguably, the least corrupt.

Due largely to Lee’s efforts, the World Bank now lists Singapore as the world’s fourth wealthiest country based on per capita income – ahead of other powerhouses such as Brunei, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Singapore is the cultural and recreational hub of Asia. It is a major destination for shoppers and affluent medical tourists from nearby countries like Vietnam and Malaysia.

But in propelling Singapore into the club of the world’s wealthiest nations, Lee took some steps that made leaders of many traditional western democracies uncomfortable. He practiced a form of authoritarianism that included jailing some opposition politicians, intimidating the press, and suppressing dissent and some forms of free speech. Singapore is largely a one-party state.

Lee died last week at age 91, spawning many western news outlets – including the New York Times – to comment on Lee’s “mixed legacy.”

“As Singapore reflects on Mr. Lee’s legacy, in seven days of national mourning, many people will focus on the country’s economic growth under his rule,” theTimes opined in an editorial. “But a leader’s accomplishments should not be measured by material achievements alone. The next generation of leaders should make Singapore a political model, not just an economic one.”

Says who? Singapore’s political model has been studied by many Asian countries, including China.

The Times’ editors added that now is a good time to rethink the order of things in Singapore, particularly given rising economic inequality there. Hmmm! I wonder if that same lesson of reflection could apply to some other country like, say, the United States.

Singapore’s story of prosperity also has some observers pondering another crucial question: Is democracy overrated?

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, we’ve seen a staggering rise in the number of democratic countries around, especially in third world regions, particularly in Africa and the Americas.

Some countries have remained unmoved by this trend. For example:

China, which has the world’s largest economy and has shifted more than 300 million people into the middle class in the last 20 years, remains stubbornly authoritarian.
Vietnam remains a communist country, but its people are enjoying a degree of affluence and economic prosperity unknown since independence from France more than 60 years ago.
Although Cuba has loosened some economic and political restrictions in recent years, it is still an authoritarian country. Yet, the island nation’s literacy rate is one of the world’s highest, its doctors are among the best on the planet and it’s first-rate health system is accessible to all Cubans.

In contrast, Nigeria, which had elections this weekend, returned to democratic rule in 1999. But it is rated one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Moreover, its public education system is in the toilet, more than half of its young people are unemployed, and nearly three of every four of its people live in poverty. Nigeria’s story is, in some respects, that of many African countries experimenting with democracy.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke about an America in which Blacks in the south don’t have the vote and Blacks in the north have no reason to vote.

Given a choice, then, would you rather live in a safe, clean and mildly authoritarian society that is economically prosperous and ensures that all citizens benefit from the wealth or in a democratic society where most people are mired in economic struggle and the government has no concrete plans to lift them out of it?

Talk about a no-brainer.

Lekan Oguntoyinbo is an independent journalist. Contact him at oguntoyinbo@gmail.com

Reporter II

Posts by Reporter II

Up Next

Maxine Waters Works to Shrink Wealth Gap

Don't Miss

The Push to Eliminate Predatory Lending

Reporter II

Click to comment

Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations

Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Courtesy photo.

By Janani Ramachandran

There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4^th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.

With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.

We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.

The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4^th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”

At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.

“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”

A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.

The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: