Two Important C's
I had intended to write this piece a long time before the General Elections (GE) was to be announced, but an overseas trip had prevented me from doing so. Now that the GE is coming closer, my message is more poignant, but not entirely complete given the short period of time. Nevertheless, the issue being addressed is of a basic fundamental nature that all should be concerned about, least of all not only during election times.
In the Straits Times' introductory article on the new PAP candiates, it was promoted that these 'fresh' people were following a very important C-criteria: Non-conformity. This was seen to be an impressive and brilliant move by the ruling leaders, who wanted to stay in touch with the new generation of Singaporeans and to address issues of social concern. In a poll taken by the Straits Times (let's leave aside the objectivity of the poll, for now), it was emphasised that ordinary young Singaporeans have no concern for political ideals, and that 'bread-and-butter' issues are most important in their decision about the elections. In other words, the other five C's still matter: car, cash, condo, credit card and country card membership.
In this entire debate, there are yet two very important C's that have deliberately been left out: Citizen or Consumer? For too long, people have failed to ask the question if they should wish to participate in social and political life as mere Consumers with only materialistic needs, or as Citizens who are able to have their own voice in the societies they labour and live in and depend on for their social needs. As a Consumer, the neccessity to question, debate and take part in social policies becomes frivolous and a chore. In such a scenario, the Consumer has no place in learning more about the social problems their fellow Citizens might face; the Consumer has no interest in political, legal and social systems that might oppress and steal his most basic fundamental rights (asides to consume); the Consumer need not apply the basic faculties of critical thinking and introspection on crucial social issues, rather he is happy to comply and serve the hands of those who feed him.
I would like to think that the Citizen, in so far as he/she is sincerely interested in who his neighbours are, how they are faring, and concerned for their welfare, no matter what social, racial, ethnic, gender or sexual category they belong to, and further knows that he/she deserves to participate in decision-making for his own community, would revile with disgust at policies which are designed for him to be a more efficient Consumer (and Labourer) and keep him away from disrupting the status quo. The Citizen would ask why are the current social and political systems of decision-making fiercely concentrated in the circle of one elite technocratic-meritocratic circle (a term that can be debated);why is every Citizen of this nation not allowed to vote (also why others are allowed the double of votes),; why is every Citizen not even allowed a voice as well?
One shouldn't be deceived about the various defences from the ruling government that people are 'allowed to speak freely' or that the government is 'listening'. They are always listening, but that doesn't address the issue if they are ready to give the people a chance to manage their own lives. Neither should we even think that people can exercise freedom of speech, which would entail the freedom to call the elections 'unfree', or criticising the government for their complicity in mismanaging the NKF scandal, or giving marginalised social groups (be it homosexuals, ethnic minorities and even opposition groups) the opportunity to counter the type of propaganda that shapes the dominant impressions of their attributes.
The fact of the matter is that even if every opposition member is voted in, this would only marginally change the systems of power currently in place. There's a good reason to call them "incompetent" (another C word); they are too 'incompetent' because they cannot get their own media channels to challenge the state-owned media; they cannot get themselves a first-class PR company to market their image; they are not conceding to the capitalistic demands of major corporations; they aren't trying to shape everyone's view that we have to fear the 'scourge' of AIDS from homosexuals and rescue ourselves from lax 'moral' values derived from teenagers recording themselves having sex on mobile phones. Instead, they are wasting their time criticising the government, for the "sake of opposing", that the regulatory systems were not in place when it came to the NKF fiasco; that people don't have freedom of speech; that to curb the rising costs of transport costs, a public federalized system should be in place; that people should have an independent union force to defend their work rights; and that people should even have a right to elect for their own President. Those are the issues Citizens shouldn't be facing; rather, let the current incumbent government handle it as they have the "right answers". All of this is supposed to be intuitively true with no evidence in place.
As I mentioned, this election will pass by without so much of a hiccup to the overall political system, and that's even if every opposition member miracuously gets voted in. For that reason, opposition figures have never been the answer. While many blogs are advising their readers to vote with "conscience", the underlying statement should be made: If you want to be a Citizen, act like one 24/7 everyday. There is no reason to succumb to the 'priviledges' of a Consumer; as difficult and challenging as it is to be a Citizen, there are far more rewards compared to having the latest Wide-screen TV.
In the Straits Times' introductory article on the new PAP candiates, it was promoted that these 'fresh' people were following a very important C-criteria: Non-conformity. This was seen to be an impressive and brilliant move by the ruling leaders, who wanted to stay in touch with the new generation of Singaporeans and to address issues of social concern. In a poll taken by the Straits Times (let's leave aside the objectivity of the poll, for now), it was emphasised that ordinary young Singaporeans have no concern for political ideals, and that 'bread-and-butter' issues are most important in their decision about the elections. In other words, the other five C's still matter: car, cash, condo, credit card and country card membership.
In this entire debate, there are yet two very important C's that have deliberately been left out: Citizen or Consumer? For too long, people have failed to ask the question if they should wish to participate in social and political life as mere Consumers with only materialistic needs, or as Citizens who are able to have their own voice in the societies they labour and live in and depend on for their social needs. As a Consumer, the neccessity to question, debate and take part in social policies becomes frivolous and a chore. In such a scenario, the Consumer has no place in learning more about the social problems their fellow Citizens might face; the Consumer has no interest in political, legal and social systems that might oppress and steal his most basic fundamental rights (asides to consume); the Consumer need not apply the basic faculties of critical thinking and introspection on crucial social issues, rather he is happy to comply and serve the hands of those who feed him.
I would like to think that the Citizen, in so far as he/she is sincerely interested in who his neighbours are, how they are faring, and concerned for their welfare, no matter what social, racial, ethnic, gender or sexual category they belong to, and further knows that he/she deserves to participate in decision-making for his own community, would revile with disgust at policies which are designed for him to be a more efficient Consumer (and Labourer) and keep him away from disrupting the status quo. The Citizen would ask why are the current social and political systems of decision-making fiercely concentrated in the circle of one elite technocratic-meritocratic circle (a term that can be debated);why is every Citizen of this nation not allowed to vote (also why others are allowed the double of votes),; why is every Citizen not even allowed a voice as well?
One shouldn't be deceived about the various defences from the ruling government that people are 'allowed to speak freely' or that the government is 'listening'. They are always listening, but that doesn't address the issue if they are ready to give the people a chance to manage their own lives. Neither should we even think that people can exercise freedom of speech, which would entail the freedom to call the elections 'unfree', or criticising the government for their complicity in mismanaging the NKF scandal, or giving marginalised social groups (be it homosexuals, ethnic minorities and even opposition groups) the opportunity to counter the type of propaganda that shapes the dominant impressions of their attributes.
The fact of the matter is that even if every opposition member is voted in, this would only marginally change the systems of power currently in place. There's a good reason to call them "incompetent" (another C word); they are too 'incompetent' because they cannot get their own media channels to challenge the state-owned media; they cannot get themselves a first-class PR company to market their image; they are not conceding to the capitalistic demands of major corporations; they aren't trying to shape everyone's view that we have to fear the 'scourge' of AIDS from homosexuals and rescue ourselves from lax 'moral' values derived from teenagers recording themselves having sex on mobile phones. Instead, they are wasting their time criticising the government, for the "sake of opposing", that the regulatory systems were not in place when it came to the NKF fiasco; that people don't have freedom of speech; that to curb the rising costs of transport costs, a public federalized system should be in place; that people should have an independent union force to defend their work rights; and that people should even have a right to elect for their own President. Those are the issues Citizens shouldn't be facing; rather, let the current incumbent government handle it as they have the "right answers". All of this is supposed to be intuitively true with no evidence in place.
As I mentioned, this election will pass by without so much of a hiccup to the overall political system, and that's even if every opposition member miracuously gets voted in. For that reason, opposition figures have never been the answer. While many blogs are advising their readers to vote with "conscience", the underlying statement should be made: If you want to be a Citizen, act like one 24/7 everyday. There is no reason to succumb to the 'priviledges' of a Consumer; as difficult and challenging as it is to be a Citizen, there are far more rewards compared to having the latest Wide-screen TV.
posted by Douglas Evans at 11:30 AM
6 Comments:
Dun so angst leh hehe. Dunno, perhaps see if we are citizen first consumer second (consumer-citizen) or vice versa (citizen-consumer) rather than absolutes. Cannot separate the 2 leh in modern state unless one is living in some commune. Now, are we moving from citizen-consumer to consumer-citizen? The only "proof" is 7 May - one indicator is wheder oppo got win more seats, and the other convenient sign is if overall votes % how. 60-40? 65-35? 70-30? hehe Dun write voters off yet.
Despite the difference in the political system in your land and mind, the GE is today here. It's foolish at the attempts of the government here. So foolishly wronged. And the temptations of monetary influences become so strong that we lose our senses, head over toes. It's a shame in my land, and everything is just a lie. And such reflects in life and in manner, a personality unchangeable.
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I won't knock consumers. Without computers we couldn't post.
Those wide screen TV's you mentioned are all part of cheap consumer electronics—the same sources of cheap communication tools.
Govt's are damn scared of the empowered individuals who won't hesitate to share their opinion—especially about govts who "misbehave". The PAP gets a thorough f***ing everyday all over the forums and the blogsphere.
Just observe the current "panic" in some circles within the PAP regarding the negativity (80-85%...another dubious statistic) of S'pore citizens, and how they wilfully violate the (stupid) "no political blogging" edict ala' Balaji. (idiot)
Every value, has a price which must be paid. Freedom ain't "free" and neither are the tools of freedom—like consumer goods.
I probably should clarify my definitions, though it is kinda late to do so by now. When I refer to the notion of being a Consumer, I am referring to a specific ideology and sets of values, usually labelled as "consumerist culture", in which the prime driving force of every human being is simply to consume and maximise their posessions of commodities.
Of course, everyone is a consumer; everyone needs to eat, drink and produce. But currently we have been taught to think that these are the only habits and forms of activity we are entitled to fulfill, and that important social, economic and political policies should be left to the "enlightened" few, in other words the social elite, to design and impose on us. This is not a trival matter; if anything, it is one of the basic obstacles to building a constructive, vibrant and active political public conscious. So long as people are told to vote for the party who can guarantee to bring them the five C's, and ignore the intangible (when actually, it's very tangible) rewards of being an active participating citizen, you are not anywhere near the goal of having autonomy and ownership of your social, economic and political freedom.
Lastly, as a side comment, in regards to the comment about computers, again the point is not whether I have a computer or not. Though I can use it to blog, and hence exercise my freedom of speech, that's hardly what it was intended to function as, and further the question arises as to why I have to resort to using the computer to exercise it. I can have the best computer in the world, one thats highly valued within a conscious consumerist culture, but it doesn't help in anyway to advance progressive values.
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