A review of Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs covering his transformation of Singapore from third-world city-state to wealthy nation through pragmatic policies, framed as a 'rationalist power fantasy' of someone who successfully implemented sensible governance. Longer summary

This is a review of Lee Kuan Yew's two-volume memoirs covering his life from childhood through 25 years as Prime Minister of Singapore. The first book follows his path from middle-class teenager through WWII Japanese occupation, law school in England, rise in anticolonial politics, and Singapore's complex journey to independence. The second book details how he transformed Singapore from a poor third-world city-state with no natural resources into one of the world's richest countries through pragmatic economic policy, military buildup, massive public housing programs, anti-corruption campaigns, and ruthless focus on stability. The review frames Lee as a 'rationalist power fantasy' - someone who actually succeeded at implementing sensible policies and having them work, while also exploring questions about authoritarianism, his relationship with the decline of the British Empire, and comparisons to figures like Thomas Jefferson and Deng Xiaoping. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander compares Singapore to Hong Kong, Macau, and Sweden using various socioeconomic indicators to challenge the claim that Singapore's success is due to its Reactionary policies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander examines the claim that Singapore's success is due to its Reactionary policies. He compares Singapore to Hong Kong, a similar city-state without Reactionary policies, and also includes Macau and Sweden in the analysis. Using various socioeconomic indicators, he finds that while Singapore performs well, it doesn't significantly outperform Hong Kong or Sweden. Scott concludes that the success of Singapore and Hong Kong is likely due to their shared characteristics (Chinese population, British influence, laissez-faire capitalism) rather than Singapore's Reactionary policies. Shorter summary