Chapter 2 (citizenship and governance) Flashcards
What are the different challenges in deciding what is good for society?
- differing needs and interests
- differing priorities
- unequal sharing of costs
What is meant by differing needs and interests?
- in a diverse society with different people
- everyone has different needs and interests
- as such people disagree on what is more important
What is an example of differing needs and interests?
- transport is a priority of the government
- however, in that there is private and public transport
- people with private vehicles or take private vehicles more frequently would want the government prioritise improving existing road networks
- to make them more efficient
- people with no private vehicle or take public transport more frequently would want the government to prioritise improving public transport sectors
- to make them more convenient, reliable and efficient
What is meant by differing priorities?
- people in society have different personal priorities depending on different factors such as:
- socio economic status
- lifestyle
- age group
- family etc
What is an example of differing priorities in Singapore?
- survey conducted with singaporeans of differing economic groups
- lower income individuals stated public housing as their top priority
- higher income individuals placed public healthcare as their top priority
What do differing priorities show?
- shows that it is difficult for people to agree upon priorities
What might differing priorities bring about?
- disagreement about how much resources should be allocated to different sectors
- disharmony and disagreements in society
What is meant by unequal sharing of costs?
- different groups of people bearing different impacts (costs) of a decision a government makes
- some may be impacted greatly while others not so much
What is an example of unequal sharing of costs and how does it show unequal sharing of costs?
- building an expressway
- most in society will benefit
- however, people living near to it will be affected by the noise
- whether from construction or from day to day operations of the expressway
How does the government make decisions based on these factors?
- decide based on what benefits the masses (most of society)
How does the government manage conflicting demands?
- understanding trade-offs
- decision-making in a representative democracy
Why are trade-offs needed in society?
- due to limited resources, the government has to forgo something in exchange for another
- as it is impossible to have both things at the same time
- as such, the government needs to prioritise
- and decide what is more important
What is an example of trade-offs in Singapore?
- in 2014 when the government had to acquire land to build the thomson east coast line
- trade off was that the land could no longer be used for other purposes
What is a representative democracy?
- representatives of the government who make decisions on behalf of citizens
- they are elected by citizens
What needs to be done to manage conflicting demands and interests in terms of legislature?
- laws need to be made, implemented and interpreted by different organs of the government
What are the principles of governance?
- having good leadership
- anticipating change and staying relevant
- providing a stake for everyone
- practising meritocracy
What makes a good leader?
- capable and honest
- needed to maintain stability by making right decisions
- incorruptible
- will win the support of people and investors to invest in the country
- moral courage
- to make unpopular decisions that have long term benefits
Why is good leadership important?
- government can ensure social and economic development of a country
- through good decisions that may not be popular
What is an example of good leadership?
- ERP system was introduced to reduce traffic congestion
- singaporean drivers were unhappy with increasing cost
- but government knew it was important to reduce traffic congestion
- help roads run smoothly and efficiently
- economy stays productive
How does anticipating change and staying relevant benefit a country?
- Singapore able to remain stable
- we can anticipate problems before it happens and stay ahead of competitors
- minimises risk of vulnerability
How does anticipating change and staying relevant relate to good governance?
- the government needs to manage tensions among different citizens with different needs and interests
- along with remaining forward looking
What is an example of anticipating change and staying relevant and how does it benefit the country?
- building of integrated resorts (MBS and Sentosa)
- increase tourism in Singapore
- provides new employment opportunities
- contributes to economic growth
What were some problems associated with the building of IRs in Singapore and how was it managed?
- consequences of gambling
- measures were taken to lessen the impact of gambling
- National Council Of Problem Gambling was set up
- to conduct public education and providing counselling services to gamblers and their families
What does providing a stake for everyone look like?
- considering the concerns raised by Singaporeans
- allowing them to have a voice in the country’s development
What does providing a stake for everyone cause?
- singaporeans will feel valued
- greater sense of belonging
- support government decisions
- allows for good governance
- they will feel motivated to contribute to singapore
- e.g. singapore’s survival, good progress, development
What is an example of how the government provides a stake for everyone?
- our Singapore conversations
- where Singaporeans share their views, hopes and dreams for Singapore
