About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherCornell University Press

ISBN-101501713434

ISBN-139781501713439

eBay Product ID (ePID)234221892

Product Key Features

Book TitleLiberalism Disavowed : Communitarianism and State Capitalism in Singapore

Number of Pages234 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicAsia / Southeast Asia, Political Economy, Sociology / General, General, Political Ideologies / Conservatism & Liberalism, World / Asian

Publication Year2017

GenrePolitical Science, Social Science, History

AuthorBeng Huat Chua

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight32.1 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2016-050361

Reviews"Liberalism Disavowed is an important book. It's the best discussion of the history and significance of Singapore's distinctive political economy. Beng Huat Chua's argument is theoretically rich, well supported with ample sources, and benefits from an insider's perspective. He persuasively argues that the People's Action Party has maintained, even reinforced, its left social democratic orientation over the past fifty years, in contrast to the mainstream view that it has abandoned its socialist roots in its quest for capitalist success in a globalized world."-Daniel A. Bell, Shandong University and Tsinghua University, author of The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy, "Liberalism Disavowed is a major intervention in the debate about how to understand Singapore's political regime, powerfully exposing the limitations of ascendant liberal pluralist critiques of authoritarianism. Chua's argument is guaranteed to generate new debate within and beyond the study of Singapore. He radically transcends the prevailing juxtaposition of a general struggle between liberal democracy and authoritarianism. This book is the sharpest and most developed exposition yet of how and why the People's Action Party has institutionalized specific forms of social, economic, and political governance as a deliberate alternative to political and economic liberalism. His analysis has major implications for debates over the form and extent of Singapore as a model for political and economic development, not least for China."-Garry Rodan, Murdoch University, coauthor of The Politics of Accountability in Southeast Asia: The Dominance of Moral Ideologies, Liberalism Disavowed is... an excellent one-volume treatment of Singapore society, and scholars interested in Asia, political economy, and alternative governance ideologies can approach the text with confidence., Liberalism Disavowed is an important book. It's the best discussion of the history and significance of Singapore's distinctive political economy. Beng Huat Chua's argument is theoretically rich, well supported with ample sources, and benefits from an insider's perspective. He persuasively argues that the People's Action Party has maintained, even reinforced, its left social democratic orientation over the past fifty years, in contrast to the mainstream view that it has abandoned its socialist roots in its quest for capitalist success in a globalized world., Liberalism Disavowed is... an excellent one-volume treatment of Singapore society, and scholars interested in Asia, political economy, and alternative governance ideologies can approach the text with confidence., This penetrating account of the Singapore model by a senior Singaporean sociologist explains both why the model works and why it is not transferable to other countries.... Contrary to conventional wisdom, he argues that neither repression nor a cultural preference for authoritarianism explains the regime's success; rather, the state's successful policies - rooted in social democratic ideology and meritocratic leadership - and the island nation's strategic vulnerability explain why the population has accepted an elitist, repressive system for over 50 years and why it will probably continue to do so., The book is easy to read, full of statistical facts (except income distribution data), and suitable for undergraduate, graduate, and professional audiences., An informative and nuanced publication on this question of liberalism's place in contemporary Singapore. The publication serves as a useful text on both the city-state's peculiar politics and the nature of liberalism itself as it is actualised--or rejected--in the modern world., An informative and nuanced publication on this question of liberalism's place in contemporary Singapore. The publication serves as a useful text on both the city-state's peculiar politics and the nature of liberalism itself as it is actualised - or rejected - in the modern world., This well-written and insightful volume is the culmination of Chua Beng Huat's academic work on state and society in Singapore and brings together many of his path-breaking arguments that have significantly shaped our understanding of the country., The contribution of Chua's Liberalism Disavowed is very large in that it shows how the hegemony of the PAP is working and resisting liberalism, especially in the everyday world of Singaporeans. It re-interprets the origin of public support for the PAP by focusing on its embedded social democratic origin.

Grade FromCollege Graduate Student

SynopsisIn Liberalism Disavowed , Beng Huat Chua examines the rejection of Western-style liberalism in Singapore since the nation's expulsion from Malaysia and formal independence as a republic in 1965. The People's Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since 1959, has forged an independent non-Western ideology that is evident in various government policies that Chua analyzes, among them multiracialism, public housing, and widespread social distributions to the citizenry. Singapore is prosperous and peaceful, it's highly advanced on various metrics of economic development, it has a great deal of regional influence, it is home to sophisticated industries and a large financial service sector, and it features what are by Western standards unusually low levels of social inequality. Paradoxically, however, it is no beacon of political liberalism. Chua sets forth ample evidence that the dominance of the People's Action Party is based on a combination of economic success and media control, limits on public protests, libel suits against political opponents, and severely curtailed civil liberties., In Liberalism Disavowed , Beng Huat Chua examines the rejection of Western-style liberalism in Singapore since the nation's expulsion from Malaysia and formal independence as a republic in 1965.

LC Classification NumberJQ1063.A58C48 2017