4.0
Lee Kuan Yew
ByPublisher Description
CNN “Book of the Week”
Featuring a foreword by Henry Kissinger
The grand strategist and founder of modern Singapore offers key insights and opinions on globalization, geopolitics, economic growth, and democracy in a series of interviews with the author of Destined for War, and others
“If you are interested in the future of Asia, which means the future of the world, you’ve got to read this book.” —Fareed Zakaria, CNN
When Lee Kuan Yew speaks, presidents, prime ministers, diplomats, and CEOs listen. Lee, the founding father of modern Singapore and its prime minister from 1959 to 1990, has honed his wisdom during more than fifty years on the world stage. Almost single-handedly responsible for transforming Singapore into a Western-style economic success, he offers a unique perspective on the geopolitics of East and West. American presidents from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama have welcomed him to the White House; British prime ministers from Margaret Thatcher to Tony Blair have recognized his wisdom; and business leaders from Rupert Murdoch to Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, have praised his accomplishments. This book gathers key insights from interviews, speeches, and Lee’s voluminous published writings and presents them in an engaging question and answer format.
Lee offers his assessment of China’s future, asserting, among other things, that “China will want to share this century as co-equals with the U.S.” He affirms the United States’ position as the world’s sole superpower but expresses dismay at the vagaries of its political system. He offers strategic advice for dealing with China and goes on to discuss India’s future, Islamic terrorism, economic growth, geopolitics and globalization, and democracy. Lee does not pull his punches, offering his unvarnished opinions on multiculturalism, the welfare state, education, and the free market. This little book belongs on the reading list of every world leader.
Featuring a foreword by Henry Kissinger
The grand strategist and founder of modern Singapore offers key insights and opinions on globalization, geopolitics, economic growth, and democracy in a series of interviews with the author of Destined for War, and others
“If you are interested in the future of Asia, which means the future of the world, you’ve got to read this book.” —Fareed Zakaria, CNN
When Lee Kuan Yew speaks, presidents, prime ministers, diplomats, and CEOs listen. Lee, the founding father of modern Singapore and its prime minister from 1959 to 1990, has honed his wisdom during more than fifty years on the world stage. Almost single-handedly responsible for transforming Singapore into a Western-style economic success, he offers a unique perspective on the geopolitics of East and West. American presidents from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama have welcomed him to the White House; British prime ministers from Margaret Thatcher to Tony Blair have recognized his wisdom; and business leaders from Rupert Murdoch to Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, have praised his accomplishments. This book gathers key insights from interviews, speeches, and Lee’s voluminous published writings and presents them in an engaging question and answer format.
Lee offers his assessment of China’s future, asserting, among other things, that “China will want to share this century as co-equals with the U.S.” He affirms the United States’ position as the world’s sole superpower but expresses dismay at the vagaries of its political system. He offers strategic advice for dealing with China and goes on to discuss India’s future, Islamic terrorism, economic growth, geopolitics and globalization, and democracy. Lee does not pull his punches, offering his unvarnished opinions on multiculturalism, the welfare state, education, and the free market. This little book belongs on the reading list of every world leader.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesLee Kuan Yew Reviews
4.0
“Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World
Lee Kuan Yew is undoubtedly the greatest nation builder in modern history, and perhaps the greatest leader that we will ever see in this particular era.
As if transforming Singapore from an entrepôt British colony to the greatest city in the world wasn’t enough he has been known additionally as an advisor for world leaders and business moguls across the globe. These include Barack Obama, Hilary and Bill Clinton, Deng Xiaoping, The Sultan of Brunei, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Rex Tillerson, Jacques Chirac and many more notable figures.
Lee is famous for being extremely prescient and it is interesting to read many of his thoughts and predictions with the benefit of hindsight now.
“Demography, not democracy, will be the most critical factor for security and growth in the 21st century…Countries that most welcome migrants have an economic advantage, but open immigration policies also carry risks. New waves of migrants will be ethnically different, less educated, and sometimes unskilled…It will gradually dawn on governments that immigration alone cannot solve their demographic troubles and that much more active government involvement in encouraging or discouraging procreation may be necessary.” Says Lee.
This was a most acute prediction and one that rings true extremely hard today. Demography and population pyramids have played a huge role in many countries such as Italy and Japan (who has tried, and repeatedly failed, to encourage more children) and no doubt shall continue to do so, perhaps even damaging other nations such as China or Germany.
His comments on migration also hit home, countries such as the United States have managed to leverage their economy into attracting foreign talent through their world class universities and visa programmes such as J1 and H1B.
Though, Lee was also correct in that migrant quality would decrease. It has already significantly done so in USA. Waves of uneducated, unbecoming migrants have drained the public purse and eroded public trust in the social order. Further examples of this include Canada, Britain and many more.
A perfect example of immigration done correctly, as noted by Lee himself on a number of occasions, is California’s famed Silicon Valley that has managed to develop a uniquely ‘colour blind’ and meritocratic society that has attracted talent from all over the world such as Satya Nadella, Dr Lisa Su and Jawed Karim. Even many companies have been sucked in by the region’s strong magnetic force such as London’s Deepmind who pioneered the modern form of AI.
“Unlike workers in the repetitive, machine-based age, tomorrow’s workers must depend more on their own knowledge and skills. They have to manage their own control systems, supervise themselves, and take upon themselves the responsibility to upgrade. They must be disciplined enough to think on their own and to seek to excel without someone breathing down their neck. Workers in the new economy cannot be content with just problem solving and perfecting the known. They must be enterprising and innovative, always seeking new ways of doing the job, to create the extra value, the extra edge” Says Lee speaking of what skills the next generation must acquire to perform in a world of AI and other future technologies. While it is far too early to say whether or not he is ultimately correct there is, of course, a very good chance Lee proves himself prescience as ever.
“At some point Israel has to decide, whether with or without U.S. support, whether to try and destroy Iran’s hardened underground shelters. If Iran gets the bomb, Saudi Arabia will buy the bomb from Pakistan, the Egyptians will buy the bomb from someone, and then you have a nuclearized Middle East. Then it is only a matter of time before there is a nuclear explosion in the region” speaking of the nuclear bomb in the volatile Middle East Lee issues a strong warning against Iran. However, recent events have proven this to not at all be the case. Iran is incapable, and increasingly so, of producing a nuclear weapon. Furthermore had they done so, they would not be a match militarily for Israel as proven recently (through large scale espionage and air dominance) in their short lived war. Lee Kuan Yew seems to have fallen into the trap of overestimating the nuclear threat.
“As a counterweight, yes—they will be able to prevent excesses by the Americans and the Europeans—but otherwise no. They are different countries on different continents that happen to be growing faster than other combinations of countries on those continents, so somebody said: why not bring them all together and make them into a global force? Sure, China will buy soybeans from Brazil. It is a growing country that needs resources and can pay for them. But the Chinese and Indians do not share the same dreams” says Lee as the interview switches to the subject of the BRICS bloc. As usual, he is correct and has been proven correct with the passage of time. The BRICS should have never been formed, and probably never would have had Goldman Sachs not coined the phrase. Lee is correct to state that they are far too different in terms of development, culture, geography and goals to be an effective team. Recent skirmishes such as India and China’s border clash or China assisting Pakistan in blowing up India’s Rafale fighter jets further exposes this. With further additions of nations such as Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Ethiopia and many more this morose mélange will likely end up quiescent. More akin to SAARC than ASEAN.
“It is the duty of leaders to instill confidence in the people so that they will stand up to be counted…No army, however brave, can win when its generals are weak. Leaders must have the ability to plan and chart the way ahead, and the fortitude to stay the course…When they fight together against all odds and win, a bond will be forged between people and leaders, like the deep unshakeable feeling of trust between an army and its generals who have been in battle together.
Your job as a leader is to inspire and to galvanize, not to share your distraught thoughts. You make your people dispirited if you do so” says Lee when discussing world leaders.
This rings especially true for recently elected British PM Keir Starmer. His morose mutterings only instil skepticism and fear in his population, the exact antithesis of a good leader. Furthermore he notoriously refuses to take a stand one way or the other. Resulting in U turn after U turn. His refusal to chart a course, instead opting to sit on the fence and not lean one way or the other for fear of disapproval is the true mark of a weak man. As Lee Kuan Yew says himself “There are moments when you have to be thoroughly unpopular” in order to make progress, to take the hard decision, to think ahead.
Further giving his thoughts on democracy Lee says “So long as you run this one person, one vote, the easiest of appeals that can be made to the ground are the simple, emotional ones, not economic development and progress and all these other things they do not understand, but simple things: pride in race, in language, in religion, in culture.” This reverberates across the western world with the resurgence of populist leaders on both sides of the European political spectrum win or lose. Milei, Trump, Mamdani, Farage, Corbyn and many more across the world. Regardless of whether they may or may not perform well it is dangerous ground to stand on. “They say people can think for themselves? Do you honestly believe that the chap who cannot pass elementary school knows the consequences of his choice” Lee highlights just how dangerous populism can be to the milieu, especially when society, economy, education, technology, military and healthcare are not considered whatsoever.
“I find parts of it totally unacceptable: guns, drugs, violent crime, vagrancy, unbecoming behavior in public, in sum, the breakdown of civil society. The expansion of the right of the individual to behave or misbehave as he or she pleases has come at the expense of orderly society” says Lee of the United States of America. The veracity could not be greater, and this illness of the individual rights reigning over societal needs has only spread to other parts of the globe such as Britain and Europe, infecting them and creating the conditions of today that inflict pain and discomfort on a daily basis.
While not ever explicitly stated, it is no secret Lee and eventually his son were heavily against the newly formed absurd norms that plagued the United States during the Obama and Biden administrations. Perhaps this repudiation is perhaps why the milieu is night and day between Singapore and a place like California.
“India’s economy can grow to about 60–70% that of China…It is not going to be bigger—on present projections. But 60–70% of China with a population which will be bigger than China’s by 2050 is something considerable, and India has some very able people” Lee responds when asked whether India could rival China one day. Lee believed India could perhaps be a counterweight to China in the Asian region, but will never reach the beatitude of China or the USA.
India currently stands as the world’s fourth largest economy, set to become the third largest by year’s end. Will it overtake China? Who can say - Lee certainly did not believe so. Though I do not believe his predicted outcome is guaranteed, India has reigned as the supreme power in this world many times over and I see no reason why this cannot be the case again. If Indian-led bloc BIMSTEC can become more united and integrated like ASEAN or the EU I see no reason why India cannot rival or surpass China, even with the setbacks they face such as the ossifying caste system, uneducated population or extreme populism that Lee himself correctly pointed out.
As one has been able to glance by now this is an utterly fascinating read with many insightful conversations with Lee Kuan Yew. His reputation precedes him and this book showcases why. Many more insightful conversations on a wide gamut of subjects fill this book and will undoubtedly leave the reader rather lachrymose when finished, wishing for much more. A must read for anyone with any inclination towards politics, nation building or cultural impact on society.”
About Graham Allison
Graham Allison is Douglas Dillon Professor of Government and Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Robert D. Blackwill is Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ali Wyne is an associate of the Belfer Center.
Robert D. Blackwill is Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ali Wyne is an associate of the Belfer Center.
Other books by Graham Allison
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