THE POOR IN A DEVELOPMENTAL WELFARE STATE : THE CASE OF SINGAPORE

Abstract

Despite its affluence, Singapore offers little to the poor, relative to other countries. Furthermore, this is in the context of a substantial minority of the population that is poor, and rising income inequality. This paper seeks to understand this phenomenon, by conceptualizing the social welfare system in Singapore as a developmental welfare state. Social welfare is subsumed under economic imperatives, and also used as a tool for the overriding goal of economic growth. In Singapore, this translates to the developmental welfare state's main tenets: the goal of economic growth as the guiding imperative, personal responsibility and work ethic, and family/community involvement. The state takes an individualistic perspective on the poor. As a result, it places the responsibility of providing welfare onto the individual and other non-state actors, through the promulgation of various values. The position of the poor is not to be a financial burden on the state, and to contribute to the development of human capital. Social welfare can be construed as a social control mechanism to regulate the norms and behaviours of the poor to be in line with their position in a developmental welfare state. This is seen from the workings of social welfare schemes. Social welfare schemes are insufficient for the poor, and they are also restricted in their social control function by structural conditions that affect the poor. As such, a fundamental shift towards a more equitable social system is necessary.