Abstract
The Singaporean government has implemented many policies to encourage high fertility and marriage, including requiring marriage for the purchase of housing, publicity campaigns, and “baby bonuses” for the first three children. In Neoliberal Morality in Singapore, You Yenn Teo analyzes the individual consequences of these family policies through self-collected interviews. The author argues that these policies have failed at their ultimate goal of halting the trends of later marriage and lower fertility; however, they have had latent effects in developing collective practices, habits, norms, and beliefs, which have become part of the Singaporean identity. This is partly because the policies created a shared context, society, and legitimate state experienced by the Singaporean people. Teo contests stereotypical ideas of Singapore being an unchallenged authority leading obedient, silent citizens. Instead, she shows how citizens navigate policies using individual choice to shape the state and the cultural environment of Singapore.
The book explores the historical context of the family policies, how individuals navigate the policies, and how the policies shape these individuals’ perceptions of the state. Teo assesses how the paradoxes of the policies affect the state and the culture. For example, she analyzes how Singaporeans are generally sociologically-minded; however, when problems occur, their attention is directed toward the family. This discourages citizens from critiquing the state and encourages them to continue seeing globalization and modernization as inevitable processes. For this reason, neoliberalism and neoliberal morality are seen as naturally coming out of the cultural unity created by government policies.
Teo uses interviews to show a large interconnection between the state, the economy, and the family. She argues that this interconnection played a large role in positioning neoliberalism as something natural and founded in the culture of Singapore. She uses historical context and findings from the interviews to address the consequences in depth; for example, she examines how the creation of family/culture can lead to a reluctance to oppose the state by encouraging more conservative politics. She also discusses the possibilities and limitations of sociopolitical change to suggest possible avenues for the future.
Neoliberal Morality in Singapore would be an interesting and useful addition to courses addressing social policy, sociology of culture, sociology of law, gender studies, social work, family studies, or human development. It is a great look at how different theoretical frameworks can be used to address specific cases. It is much more than just an analysis of the family policies of Singapore; this book also speaks to the ways social structures such as law, policy, and culture address and shape both individual choices and individual and community identities.