[James C. Bennett]

When I lived in Singapore, apartments were “rationed” due to the real estate shortage in the tiny nation, and applicants would be awarded housing in such a pattern as to prevent single-ethnicity domination in the overall aggregation. The last time I checked, Singaporeans with all their diversity were doing phenomenally better than practically any other nation on the planet: health-wise, and in other areas determining quality of life. What gives?

[2banana]

Life can be quite pleasant and nice under a draconian and tyrannical regime. If you have the correct and benevolent tyrant.

Or you can end up like North Korea.

. What gives?

[muawiyah]

What gives? Well, to start with the overwhelming majority of the population are Overseas Chinese ~ and their ancestors were people who got into trouble with foreign interests (during the last of the Ming dynasty) and had to leave ~ naturally smart folks they passed it on.

Then there were the others who fled ahead of the warlords, then ahead of the Russian Commies, then ahead of the Chinese Commies ~ in the end most of the brightest people in China left.

Previous poverty in Singapore was not a result of lack of interest on the part of the people but more a problem related to the majority of them being refugees ~ then there was the devastation generated by the Japanese who occupied the place.

We didn't lose out on this. Singapore's hereditary criminal class and all the landlords moved to New York ~ except for those who moved to Taiwan.

Other parts of the world found themselves playing host to the former leadership elite and economic movers and shakers from all over China.