Disavowing Liberalism: the political legitimacy and longevity of the People's Action Party in Singapore

Singapore is generally seen as a model success story of global capitalism. However, this talk will argue that it is the institutionalisation of certain ‘socialist’ elements during the early years of Singapore’s state formation by the People’s Action Party (PAP) that accounts for the party’s longevity in parliamentary power. The universal provision of public houses, state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds are some such examples of this. In fact, the contributions of these socially re-distributive institutions to the social and political stability of Singapore support the disavowal of political liberalism as the teleology of the state's political development.

Chua Beng Huat is currently Head of Urban Studies, Yale-NUS College and Professor of Sociology, National University of Singapore. His most recent book is Liberalism Disavowed: communitarianism and state capitalism in Singapore (2017) and he is the founding Co-Executive Editor of the journal, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies.

Hyun Bang Shin is Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at LSE.

The Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (SEAC) is a cross-disciplinary, regionally-focused academic centre within the at LSE.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSESingapore

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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.