[nickpsecurity]

"The institution of National Service is largely regarded as a social equaliser, which embodies fairness, equality and identity. More than 94% of respondents agree"

Which doesn't argue against my point at all. I already illustrated where classism comes from and how it can only be one component. You'd have to address the others. Instead, you said a bunch of people surveyed in a police state said the police state plan was good. I've even read plenty of dissent on Singaporeans' blogs and stuff on that one so it's extra funny to see such overwhelming support.

In any case, what numbers and citations you should look for are what percentage of Singaporeans change classes and which transitions those work. Especially how often the poor become Middle Class and how often lower classes become upper class. Additionally, how often do upper classes become lower class. These will assess how much education and performance really matters vs their background or social connections. For example, in the U.S., the last number I saw quoted was 90+% of people stay in their economic class no matter what efforts put in. Most on boards or C-level positions also started as middle or upper class in "Ivy League" schools. So, our system is rigged to operate based on politics and reinforce current class situation as proven by its results.

So, what's Singapore's numbers on that? And could you even get accurate ones with its control over media?

[SamReidHughes]

One problem with comparing those stats across nations is that having centuries of stability will make those stats look a lot worse. Right after a big event like WW II, much of your lot in the world was the result of bad luck -- there were lots more highly-capable poor people, who were likely to move up in life, or whose children were (because of inherited personality traits). A few generations later, a lot of them have moved up, and social mobility will be smaller. You'd expect Singapore to have more social mobility than white America, for this reason alone.

There are also other factors that can help or hurt, like everybody living in the same city.