Bryan Caplan highlights relevant passages from Lee Kuan Yew's story of Singapore.
People in Hong Kong depended not on the government but on themselves and their families... The drive to succeed was intense; family and extended family ties were strong. Long before Milton Friedman held up Hong Kong as a model of a free-enterprise economy, I had seen the advantage of having little or no safety net. It spurred Hong Kong's people to strive to succeed. There was no social contract between the colonial government and them. Unlike Singaporeans, they could not and did not defend themselves or their collective interests. They were not a nation - indeed, were not allowed to become a nation...
Caplan: During the 50s and early 60s, Lee basically saw himself as a nationalist. So you'd think that he'd see Hong Kong's unnationhood as a big handicap. Wrong!
We had to become a nation or we would cease to exist. We had to subsidize education, health, and housing even though I tried to avoid the debilitating effects of welfarism. But the Singaporean cannot match the Hong Konger in drive and motivation. In Hong Kong when people fail, they blame themselves or their bad luck, pick themselves up, and try again... Singaporeans have different attitudes to government and to life. They prefer job security and freedom from worry. When they do not succeed they blame the government since they assume its duty is to ensure that their lives get better... Singaporeans vote for their MPs and ministers and expect them to distribute whatever prizes their are. (emphasis mine)
Read it all.
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