For whom the bell Dengs, it Dengs for Lee

March 23rd, 2015 by Lynn C. Rees

Lee is a frequent candidate for great authoritarian of the late twentieth century, the sort of man that, if they could be produced on demand, would euthanize democracy. That great authoritarians are not produced on demand continues to be a problem. Lee proved resiliently traditional in his attempts to solve the problem: Placeholder minion. Check. Dynastic succession. Check.

Whether history gives Lee as hearty a backslap as Lee (through Deng) gave Lee will depend upon whether Lee’s great authoritarianism continues to be great authoritarianism without its great authoritarian. Cárdenas’ “perfect dictatorship” endured 54 years. Stalin’s dead cat bounce reached 1991. Mau’s dead cat bounce carried a Deng, a Jyang, a Hu, and now a Syi. And those cabals had some component of rotation of elites built in. Lee’s die is cast with old school hereditary monarchy. His dynastic successor has an heir and two spares (three spares if Singapore doesn’t follow Salic Law). Time will tell if Lee Kuan Yew wins the genetic lottery now that he’s no longer around to play retired emperor.

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Posted in 20th century, Adaptability, exercise, form, Lynn C. Rees, market states, metaphor, Mexico | 1 comment

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  1. Lexington Green:

    March 23rd, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    Too bad so few authoritarian rulers are as smart, public spirited, non-psychotic, comparatively non-violent and, yes, adaptable as LKY. Whatever good he did for Singapore may be offset by giving despotism a good name it does not deserve because he was a rarity.