Ain’t it fascinating? Haven’t been to any of the three countries you discuss, so I can’t speak too much to specifics, but I have read a little about them. From what I can tell, Singapore has done an unusually good job of building infrastructure, encouraging industry and business investment, promoting the rule of law, and spreading wealth among its (relatively small) population. Despite the human rights abuses and the lack of real democracy, I think the nation and its leaders deserve real credit for that. The tradeoffs they’ve made along the way are not things we should condemn without thinking what they’ve gained by them. And it’s interesting to think how the lessons of Singapore’s government could be applied in larger and more diverse countries. Could a small African country, for example, follow the same track? Or are they too different?