Chapter 2: What is for the Good of Society

Challenges in deciding what is good for society

  1. Differing Needs and Interests
  1. Differing Priorities
  1. Unequal Sharing of Costs

People using public transport NEED more stable and reliable transport system; while people with personal vehicles NEED a denser network of road infrastructure

Parents who have school-going children would want EMPHASIS on education; while people with elderly parents to care for would want more eldercare services

People near to the construction SUFFER the noise repercussions of the decision to build the infrastructure, while others can just enjoy the convenience of the infrastructure

Results in the NIMBY syndrome, where people wish to benefit from the infrastructure built, yet do not want to suffer the consequences from the construction

How government decides what is good for society

Trade-offs

Understanding what is lost and the consequences of the decision made

Government

Knowing that land used for one purpose cannot be used again

Good Governance

3 main departments

Judiciary: Supreme Court; Family Court; District Courts etc

Legislature: made up of President, Cabinet, MPs and Speaker of Parliament

Executive: comprise of 16 ministries

Anticipating change and staying relevant

Ensuring everyone has a stake in SG

Eg. When deciding to build the 2 IRs in Marina Bay and Sentosa, their impacts and benefits in economical, social and political/cultural areas weighed

Practicing meritocracy

Good leadership

Eg. Using Public Housing Scheme, citizens are able to find an affordable roof over their heads, with the ownership of a home comes sense of belonging to SG. First-time home-owners can also apply for the Special CPF Housing Grant to further receive even more grants to make buying a home acheivable

Eg. When govt decided to use land previously used for other purposes to build the Thomson-East Coast line, the impacts on the people reliant on these places were weighed against the benefits it would bring such as to transport nearly 1 000 000 commuters daily in the future

Eg. Rewarding the top 15% in cohort students with Edusave Scholarships that acknowledge their efforts in their studies