Yeah, it can go two ways. Either it goes the way of the Venetian Republic, where the wealthy in power start regulating away the possibility of moving up and begin the process of corrupting the state; or LKY has succeeded in changing the fundamental culture of the country (e.g. everybody speaks English today thanks to him) to promote the rule of law and lack of corruption regardless of who runs the country.
I'm scared of the first outcome, which is overwhelmingly the case historically. But the Singaporeans I know - particularly those in government, who are extremely idealistic about probity - make me think that the second is a possibility. We'll know in 40 years...
As for drugs, I think there is no true rule of law in any other country in the region. At a previous company, we annoyed one of the ruling families of one of the countries mentioned in this thread, and found ourselves fined several hundred thousand dollars because the students we paid to hand out leaflets in the street - technically "manual labour" - were not wearing hard hats and work boots. Let's not mention a certain airport whose construction siphooned several billions into the pockets of a similar family. But by and large it's known that you can head off to Bali or Bangkok and get your fix. Personally, I don't really care as a non-user (although am pro-legalization as a matter of principle), there are more important things to worry about... like the rule of law.
I'm scared of the first outcome, which is overwhelmingly the case historically. But the Singaporeans I know - particularly those in government, who are extremely idealistic about probity - make me think that the second is a possibility. We'll know in 40 years...
As for drugs, I think there is no true rule of law in any other country in the region. At a previous company, we annoyed one of the ruling families of one of the countries mentioned in this thread, and found ourselves fined several hundred thousand dollars because the students we paid to hand out leaflets in the street - technically "manual labour" - were not wearing hard hats and work boots. Let's not mention a certain airport whose construction siphooned several billions into the pockets of a similar family. But by and large it's known that you can head off to Bali or Bangkok and get your fix. Personally, I don't really care as a non-user (although am pro-legalization as a matter of principle), there are more important things to worry about... like the rule of law.