[nerdsniper]

Did I misread your thesis? It seemed like your strongest argument is “survival must be earned” and your most immediate claim to this is that “Singapore avoids multiculturalism.”

And then you kind of go on to imply that because they avoid being multicultural they instead are detail oriented and technically competent.

A lack of multiculturalism seems…like a very very nonsensical claim to make about Singapore. Its one of the most celebrated intersectional cities merging the identities of three different major regions.

[xyzzy123]

It is not "multiculturalism" in the way that word would be used in say, Canada.

They have quotas to prevent enclaves, they actively manage immigration to keep it about 3/4 Chinese, there are a lot of restrictions on speech and the ways you're allowed to organise.

The things Singapore does to manage their ethnic diversity 100% would not fly in the west.

[rayiner]

> Its one of the most celebrated intersectional cities merging the identities of three different major regions

The Chinese population share in Singapore is similar to the white population share in Nebraska (75%). And Singapore has maintained the same 75% Chinese supermajority since 1960, despite Malays having about double the total fertility rate of Chinese since the 1980s.

[rrvsh]

It is not nonsensical in the slightest. The government does their best to maintain a monoculture while promoting the farce of multiculturalism, because a monoculture facilitates easier economic growth which is the overall aim of the government rather than cultural development. Multiculturalism is essentially pacification because obviously this is unpopular

[sillyfluke]

>a monoculture facilitates easier economic growth

The why of this is not explained by you nor the original comment referring to the lack multiculturism, it is simply asserted. That's why the original comment came off as nonsensical. More than a quarter Singapore's population are foreign workers, and they make up at least 40% of Singapore's entire workforce. Seeing as the workforce that is driving Singapore's economic growth is not a monoculture your claim needs a little tweeking I would think.

I'm not claiming this means Singapore is embracing multiculturalism in the same way I don't claim the UAE embraces multiculturalism due to similar foreign workers dynamics, but not putting a disclaimer involving these stats while talking about the benefits of monoculture and lauding a country for its realism is a ridiculous sidestepping of reality. Both Singapore and the UAE are extremely cosmopolitan.

>Multiculturalism is essentially pacification because obviously this is unpopular

Why would it be unpopular to the dominant monoculture to maintain the monoculture? Who is being pacified when a country embraces multiculturalism? Please explain.

[rrvsh]

Having a diverse population != multiculturalism in the way that we were discussing. Singapore promotes "racial harmony" where every "race" is given equal public holidays, equity, and inclusion in government etc. This is not wholly true, as the majority ethnic group is overrepresented in positions of power, and foreign workers making up (the bottom) 40% of the workforce does not change that. This extends beyond ethnic lines - the monoculture is not only Chinese > over the rest, but also the dampening of any freedom in expresssion, art, etc. - this is easily verifiable by 1. speaking to any Singaporean 2. looking at the education system and 3. looking at how much cultural impact Singapore has had compared to other "global" cities. You are also clearly misrepresenting my comment about pacification, and I do not appreciate it. I am clearly not referring to some conspiracy where people are disappeared. I am talking about a decades-long government campaign to supress alternative voices and _pacify_ (in the correct sense of the word) dissent.

[nerdsniper]

So you're saying what?

1) The countries that are less multicultural than Singapore are more technical?

2) The countries that are more multicultural than Singapore are less technical?

3) The diversity of foods, religions, ethnic backgrounds, and economic backgrounds in Singapore celebrated here [0] is completely fake?

0: https://www.sg101.gov.sg/society/multicultural/

[defrost]

> Where every citizen is equal, regardless of race, language or religion

Citizen is a pretty key word there - things are pretty okay for most citizens, damn fine for the elite, and rosy for the well heeled ex-pats and foreign STEM workers.

There's an underside of non citizen day workers that stream back and forth, and a deeper layer of hell for indentured "lesser" Asians of the region that are looked down upon and struggle.

[rrvsh]

You don't need to quote my own country's government propaganda to me. My family has been here for seven generations. I made no claims that multiculturalism is wholly correlated with "more/less technical". The point is that monocultures are easier to control and a multicultural society is harder. The monoculture is cultivated so that the government has an easier time servicing their main goal of economic growth, because multiculturalism is NOT a priority, just a PR tactic to allow them to achieve what they actually want. Quoting a .gov.sg source has literally zero bearing in this.

[infecto]

It definitely is not nonsensical for anyone with experience in Singapore.