Is Obtaining A Higher Standard of Living A Danger To The Society of Singapore

Singapore has seen many changes since it was founded in 1819. It has progressed from a third world country to a first world country. The government has managed to bring in many exciting events. Events that only developed countries can organize. For example, Formula One and The IMF World Bank Meeting. It has also created many interesting infrastructures like the Tunnel Expressway despite of our limited land space and the upcoming Integrated Resorts.

With all these many events and infrastructures being organized and created, many investors have flocked to the shores of Singapore to open up its businesses here. Expatriates come and work in Singapore. Some may start a family here. Standards of living have risen. In a bird eyes view, it is very good for the prosperity of Singapore. However, where there is a bright spot, there is also a dark spot. It is this dark spot at which I would want to write about and explain how this dark spot can become less dark. I will use the Formula One Event as a starting point.

It has been a very adrenaline rush weekend. First there was the Natinal Day Parade, second and at present running The Singapore Youth Olmpics 2010 and the next event to be held on the shores of Singapore is the Formula One. Now, the Formula One has brought excitement to the lives of many Singaporeans. Scores of foreigners have flocked to the shores of Singapore. Armed with cash, they have invaded our shopping centers. It has put Singapore on the world map. As mentioned in the above paragraph, this phenomenon has been good to the economy and it has contributed to the raising living standards of Singaporeans. Attending Formula One has now become one of the bench marks for Singaporeans to attend. There is now an F included in the 5 C’s that Singaporeans have always been trying to attend.

The dark spot I am referring to is the inevitable increasing strain of obtaining a high standard of living and the consequences of trying to obtain it. Obtaining a high standard of living may be out of reach to some Singaporeans. Two classes of people will be used to illustrate this phenomenon. They are the average working class and the youths in Singapore. I will use Robert K Merton theory on Anomie to explain.

He theorized that there are two kinds of structure in society. The first structure is culturally assigned goals and aspirations (Merton, 1938: 672). These are the things that all individuals should want and expect out of life. For example, obtaining a high paying job, earning a high salary, obtaining material goods and attending influential events like the Formula One.

The second aspect of the social structure defines the acceptable mode for achieving the goals and aspirations set by society (Merton, 1938:673). This is the appropriate way that people get what they want and expect out of life. Examples include obeying laws and societal norms, seeking an education and hard work. In order for society to maintain a normative function there must be a balance between aspirations and means in which to fulfill such aspirations (Merton, 1938:673-674).

According to Merton balance would occur as long as the individual felt that he was achieving the culturally desired goal by conforming to the “institutionally accepted mode of doing so” (Merton: 1938:674). In other words, there must be an intrinsic payoff, an internal satisfaction that one is playing by the rules and there must also be an extrinsic payoff, achieving their goals. It is also important that the culturally desired goals be achievable by legitimate means for all social classes. If goals are not equally achievable through an accepted mode, then illegitimate means might be used to achieve the same goal. There often times is a disparity between goals and means.

Too much emphasis is placed on the goal and not enough emphasis is placed on achieving it through acceptable means. For some citizens there is a lack of opportunity. This leads individuals to seek out the goal by whatever means necessary. According to Merton crime is bred through this process. Simply put, overemphasis on material success and lack of opportunity for such material success leads to crime.

For example, It is not common in Singapore for kids to learn that they have to obtain certain valuable items so that they would be deem influential. Parents may teach their kids that being influential is one factor that will help them achieve success in their goals. They may not teach their kids how to respect other people’s feelings. Therefore, a child may boast that he has the latest handphone in his/her school. This may bring about resentment among the children that can’t purchase the phone. A child may steal the handphone from the child.

In this case, there are two scenarios’ we can learn from the outcome of trying to become influential in society. One is due to the fact that the child had the best phone in order to be considered as an influential human being in society, other children become jealous of the child which resulted in the stealing of the phone. The second is that due to the fact that by having that phone makes one deem to be influential in society, the child stole the phone in order to meet society standards in order to be influential.

An average adult who may not earn enough to go and see the Formula One event may feel left out. As the media has place advertisements to promote the race, it will be become a common understanding that the press is creating an anxiety among Singaporeans to persuade them to go and purchase tickets to watch the race. Attending the Formula One race has become an essential activity that all Singaporeans should adopt. If they do not attend the race, then they are not part of the “Singaporean Society” . In such cases, those who cannot afford to go to watch the race will at first accept their situation. They will obey the law and find other legitimate ways to watch the race. For example, watching the race at home. However, they would not forget “the Singaporean Society” standard of watching the race and that is by actually buying the tickets and watching the race at it’s race venue. They will soon think of illegal ways of obtaining the tickets. For example, by stealing them. If in the long run, they still cannot get the tickets, they may form groups to campaign the abolition of the Formula Event.

Some of you reading this essay may think that these cases would never happen and are ridiculous. However, the feelings of people are not easy understood and observed. They are intangible. It may not happen here in Singapore as most Singaporeans are uncanny obedient and lawful but as Singaporeans prosperous, the income gap between the poor and the rich will widen. Resentments among between the rich and the poor may grow and such scenarios may happen in the future.

As more and more Singaporean become successful, there will be a minority that would always be trap in the poverty gap. It is a social phenomenon that happens in all capitalistic countries. The rich always get richer and the poor get poorer. For those who are successful, they must try to find a way to help those that are poor to climb out the poverty gap. However, some may say who am I to help the poor! Nobody touches my money!! However, you are called to be united in Singapore and one of the fundamental principles of being united is to help your fellow citizens. What I am suggesting may be an over idealistic idea but if only there is such thing as a utopian society, then what I have suggested may actually happen.

Some organisations may have employees who are obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder in order to earn more money and adopt a higher standard of living. They may indulge in scrupulous means without regarding the well of their fellow colleagues to obtain success. For example, they may indulging in backstabbing, insider trading and “robbing” other people’s project. Why should all these undesirable activities be happening? It is due to “Singapore’s” standard of living and the fact that more and more Singaporeans are meeting that “high” standard, it is not common to see Singaporeans trying to match up with their fellow Singaporeans eventhough they may not be able to achieve it. Again resentments will be felt with those who cannot achieve the “Standard” that Singaporeans have set in order to live “happily”.

To curb these scenarios’ from happening. Parents need to teach the right moral values to their kids. For example, they have to teach their children how to think for the unfortunate, help the weak, share their food, not to look down on those who are poor and to achieve their goals in the right way. If parents themselves do not practice good moral values, then their children would learn the wrong values.

If parents or maybe even advertisements teaches children that they have to obtain certain goods in order to be considered influential or that being number one is the most important thing in their lives and anything below that is unacceptable. In Singapore, where majority of Singaporeans are pretty influential ( just read the newspapers, there are more millionaires being sprung out ), the minority would definitely be left out and if parents do not teach their children to be considerate about people’s feelings, then there will be social anomie between the rich and the poor.

Therefore, we must always examine ourselves. Are we living happily? Are we trying to live a high life that we cannot achieve? In life there must always be a balance. At times we must accept that we cannot join the Jones and accept what we have. If we can’t, then there will be conflict in our lives. Yes, we can blame society for transforming who we are but in the words of Kar Marx, it is not the ideas that determine our lives but the lives that we live determine our ideas. Therefore it is up to us to live the way we want to.