Singapore Upon Us All

If religion can't save us, we must put our faith in founders.

“We are pragmatists. We don't stick to any ideology. Does it work? Let's try it, and if it does work, fine, let's continue it. If it doesn't work, toss it out, try another one. We are not enamored with any ideology.” - Lee Kuan Yew

Nearly one year ago, I published an article in the European Conservative called Believe in Believers. The basic thesis was that New Atheism ran out of steam right after cracking the cultural door a little bit wider for the incoming woke uprising of the 2010s. With no refuge to be found in the “new story” atheists have been promising for decades now - one that retains all the valuable parts of religion but dispels with the aspects less savory to our modern world - atheists must get out of the way of an explicitly Christian response to the increasingly holy war the West has found itself in. The essay was published before October 7th, and so did not account for the return of the old New Atheist nemesis: jihad.

The resurgence of hyper-violent zealotry in the Middle East has prompted the former “Fifth Horseman of Atheism,” Ayaan Hirsi Ali, to declare that “atheism cannot prepare us for a civilizational war” - a belief now widely echoed in various fashions by remnants of the New Atheist crowd. I’d like to be able to claim that I’ve been proven right, but along with neglecting the then-lurking problem of Islamism, there was always another avenue available to hold together civilization if Christianity continues to crumble. A new story is being written, but for those like Professor Dawkins who see the decline of believing Christians as a good thing, be warned. As the saying goes: If you didn't like the Christian right, you'll really hate the post-Christian right.

If the cross can’t be reassembled, our societies will be forced to rely on canes.

A wolf on the bank of the River Tiber

The rise of right-wing progressivism presents the alternative path forward for those unwilling to throw their full weight into faith. The founder of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and his spiritual successor from down south, Nayib Bukele, have proven that there is a path forward for civilizations that cannot rely on the subduing power of the great talisman. Without a common culture to keep the peace, lost assumptions will be radically enforced.

Neither founder started building their legacy from scratch. They have had to make do with what they inherited—reforging the raw material available to them into a stable society. Singapore is a country with no delusions about diversity. Its ethnic composition is 76% Chinese, followed by 15% Malay and 7.5% Indians, with all other ethnicities representing 1.5% of the population. These numbers have been intentionally stabilized for decades as Singapore’s strict immigration policies, low birth rates, and social cohesion efforts, such as the Ethnic Integration Policy, dictate harmony from the top down. Similarly, the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act keeps the peace between the various religious factions within the city-state.

“I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn't be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn't be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters - who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.” - Lee Kuan Yew

Singapore’s laws are notoriously strict, and the government’s ability to directly interfere with the lives of its citizens outstrips any other first-world nation (at least on paper). Still, the country is prosperous and safe—many doors are not equipped with locks, and the entire island can sometimes go weeks without any recorded crime. Those who disrupt this peace are mercilessly caned, and traffickers who dare to bring drugs into the country are hanged. Singapore’s founder saw hanging as a mercy, stating that if he could kill the dealers a hundred times, he would.

For those who think this is brutal, you’re right - but just remember that the United States had over 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2023, a number roughly equivalent to roughly 2% of Singapore’s entire population.

Meanwhile, In El Salvador, 2% of the adult population is now behind bars. The country, which as recently as 2015 held the title of the highest murder rate in the world, has become a beacon to the rapidly growing coalition of right-wing progressives from around the world due to its “philosopher king’s” crusade against the (occasionally explicitly satanic) gangs which have immiserated the country for decades. Bukele’s “war for peace” has proven enormously successful - El Salvador is now the safest country in the Western hemisphere, and El Presidente now boasts an approval rating of over 90%. Recently, two gang murders in a remote part of the small country prompted the deployment of 6,000 police and military personnel in an overwhelming display of propagandistic resolve. Bukele’s message to what few gang members remain in the country, much like LKY’s message to the few drug traffickers eager to enter Singapore, was simple: zero tolerance via infinite force.

Of course, all progress comes at a cost. El Salvador has gone from 52 to 1.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in just five years, but it has done so through an extended suspension of its constitution through what is likely to be an indefinite state of emergency. While some NGOs have decried the country's conduct towards the 13,000 or so inmates who now inhabit the largest prison in Latin America, much like they continue to decry Singapore’s comfort with capital punishment, the populations of both countries have overwhelmingly rejected their disingenuous, internationalist siren song of “human rights” in favor of something more tangible: safety. This is to say nothing of the coalition of international right-wing progressives who recognized these nonprofits as nonentities a long time ago. All those tempted by Bukele’s offer of 5,000 free passports have already decided to live and die by the motto “move fast and break things,” even if those things happen to be privacy, free speech, due process, and democracy.

Some of these new arrivals will be Christians, but many will not be. Both will find themselves in good company among the El Salvadorians, some 60% of whom attend church every week. Their president is undoubtedly a man of faith as well, often praying for wisdom alongside his country-sized congregation. That the terminally online techies who are beginning to size up a move to San Salvador are likely to have more in common with the exceedingly secular Lee Kuan Yew matters not. What they will share with their newfound neighbors is a sense of pragmatism, optimism, and ambition, more than enough to build a lasting partnership. Right-wing progressives understand what is required to restore order to a society in which common assumptions about civil decency have fallen away, regardless of faith. Trust in God, but pay the police well.

Bukele’s slogan, “There’s enough money when no one steals,” a direct refutation of the corruption that has plagued the tiny nation for decades, will also appeal to the e/acc enthusiasts. What first brought El Salvador to their attention was not the brazen war on crime, but Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies might shore up the Salvadorian economy, but it is more likely that Bukule’s enthusiastic embrace of “digital gold” is more a Bat-Signal than a bet, aimed to attract the top talent from around the world who are happily coding from a couch in any country, so long as the WiFi works and the streets are safe. San Salvador even rests nicely within the Central Standard Time zone, perfect for remote workers looking for easy access to American opportunities. Already, some are gearing up for a great migration in a typically Silicon Valleyish entrepreneurial fashion. They are eager to build a new Singapore, founders flocking to a bedrock on which to build.

As conditions continue to deteriorate in America and other first-world nations, many will look to flee to a country with a more youthful and useful leader. Others will begin to demand a similar figure at home. The rise of Vivek Ramaswamy indicates a growing demand for a youthful right-wing progressive president in the United States. Trump himself is also a Conservative in name only, less worried about the predictable Republican moral outrage over abortion than about winning bigly. Both are founders in their own right as well: political mavericks coming into the area from a business background, signaling the whole way that their inexperience in politics is actually their greatest strength. Perhaps they are right, and perhaps a history of successful entrepreneurialism will become the new barrier to entry for future Republican frontrunners. At the very least, there are rising numbers of successful business leaders who are dissociating themselves from their classically Democrat affiliations. With old obligations thrown away, their new horizon provides plenty of opportunity.

What we can be sure of is that the model set by Singapore and El Salvador - that of uncompromising practicality mixed with technological optimism - will be emulated and expanded upon. As dysfunction continues to rise across the West, everyone with an internet connection will begin to publicly wonder what is really left to conserve and whether or not the costs of progress towards the future they desire actually are too steep to bear. People will only suffer economic, social, and moral setbacks, on principle, for so long. As the future rushes to meet us, the right-wing progressives will be eager to greet it, keen to conserve nothing, innovate rapidly, and play by their new set of rules.