This article seeks to redefine the Good Life in the context of Singapore.
“In Singapore, people’s interests
are very narrow, they sort of just want to go to work, go back home and spend
Sundays with their family and raise a family … [One of the] frustrations about
living in Singapore
is finding people with a real passion for things which don’t involve money or
shopping or eating.” - Tan Hwee Hwee
Epicurus divided man’s needs into primary physiological needs of food,
shelter and clothing, as well as secondary psychological and emotional needs of
safety, liberty and love. Singaporeans go beyond these basic needs. We occupy ourselves
with earning and spending more money in a country where the “5 C’s”[1]
reflects the still widely held opinion that material accumulation is the surest
emblem of success.[2] Social status is still commonly
thought to be attained through one’s conspicuous consumption of goods and
services – think shiny new cars, designer bags, expensive wristwatches, hyped-up
restaurants and luxury holiday resorts. With consumerism as its religion and pointless
one-upmanship as its sport, Singapore
has quickly become a society that knows the price of everything, and the value
of nothing.
The Good Life is simple
"With respect to luxuries and
comforts the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meager life than the
poor. Man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can do
without." - Henry David Thoreau
When we have enough to eat, live, and dress in reasonable comfort, more material
wealth should become less important – more financial security does not lead to greater
inner security. We need to reevaluate the true value of our possessions. We
should consider living simply, and carefully allocate our excess time and money
towards our communities and families, our health and our leisure. Enhancing
these aspects of our lives will improve our quality of life, rather than merely
increase our quantity of possessions. As it is, Singapore is an excellent place to
lead a simple life[3],
as it provides relatively decent standards in housing, education, healthcare, transport
and safety that grant comfort and dignity to an ordinary citizen. Doing away
with the unnecessary will give our lives a lightness that allows us to focus on
what is truly important to us.
The Good Life requires self-actualization
“"The happiness that is
genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties
and the fullest realization of the world in which we live." - Bertrand Russell
Yet, fulfilling Epicurus’ primary and secondary needs will only result
in the pleasant life. Attaining the Good Life is about self-actualization, where
each person uses his unique talents to contribute to the good of the community in
ways which are meaningful to him and significant to the community. When a
person “exercises his faculties fully for the fullest realization of the
world”, he is unconsciously engaged while being gratified with a higher level
of fulfillment and enjoyment. We should enjoy each step of our journey (ie.
what we do on a daily basis), while believing that the destination we plan to
reach is meaningful to ourselves and the community. Deciding on what is
meaningful to us will force us to focus on our true values and desires, and help
us edit out the superfluous from our lives.
The Good Life is socially engaged
“Each of
them, living apart, as is a stranger to the fate of the rest, his children and
his private friends constitute to him the whole of mankind. As for the rest of
his fellow citizens, he is close to them but he does not see them, he touches
them but he does not feel them." - Alexis de Tocqueville [4]
Singapore faces a dearth of social
capital, where social and community life have both been significantly
diminished.[5]
We pay less attention to broader interests outside of ourselves, our work and
our immediate social circles. We have less trust in and concern for our fellow
citizens - few take an active interest in public affairs, while the rest are
content to throw bricks via Facebook posts and Tweets. To build up social
capital, we need to volunteer and participate in person within actual political and
civic organizations that nurture specific community interests while tolerating opposing
or minority views.[6]
The country will then slowly develop healthy and productive communities,
cohesive and cooperative neighborhoods, and develop a social infrastructure for
all citizens to collaborate on solutions to present and future problems.
Conclusion
"It is not the critic who
counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the
doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is
no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the
deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in
a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that
his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know
victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt
This essay is not meant to criticize but to suggest that it
is better to stand up, not sit back; to be involved, not indifferent; and to be
an agent of change, not cynicism. As Roosevelt
points out, the critic simply does not count. Neither does he play a part in
the Good Life – he is merely a “cold and timid soul who neither knows victory
nor defeat”.
A life of simplicity, self-actualization and social engagement
arises out of conscious choices that one makes. In short, the Good Life is available to anyone who chooses
to seek it.
[1] Representing cash, credit cards, a
car, a condominium, and a country club membership.
[2] Fernandez, Warren. Thinking Allowed?
[3] “A little extra ordinary,” Alain de
Botton, FT Weekend Travel, Dec 18, 2004.
[4] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New
York: Doubleday, 1992), 510
[5] Rappa, Antonio. Modernity and
Consumption.
[6] Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam
