Future of Singapore’s social compact rests on the shoulders of the people
The government cannot breathe life into a social compact, it is the people who do when they believe and are committed to it.
LAUNCHED in June this year, Forward Singapore is an ongoing initiative led by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his fourth generation (4G) leadership team to review and refresh Singapore’s social compact, and set out a roadmap for the next decade and beyond.
In some respects, Forward Singapore is not very different from previous national conversations and consultations, which were not just feedback exercises but also serious efforts at consensus building on key issues of the day. What is different this time, however, appears to be the attempt to specifically engage Singaporeans on 4 defined big issues - how our economy is run and whether the system benefits all or just a few; our system of meritocracy; our system of social support, and on our solidarity.
These are issues that are fundamentally concerned with fairness, fair play and justice in our society. They speak directly to Singaporeans on post-material aspirations: What is it that defines us and what does it mean to be Singaporean. All societies are governed by social compacts, whether implicit or explicit. In articulating the relationship between the state and the people, a social compact is, in essence, the substance of state-society relations.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
