Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Further reflections on Animal Farm

On further reflections after seeing Wild Rice's performance at the Theatre Royal Hobart, I would be interested in the Singaporean reaction in Singapore.Listening to Ian Woodridge's talk on ABC radio I gathered that as far as Singaporeans are concerned Farmer Brown is identified with the British Colonial rule and the Singapore Government as developed by Lee Kuan Yew as symbolic of the tight control exercised by Napoleon.
As an outsider it is not for me to comment one way or another as to the desirability of such a course. However one important question needs to be addressed namely where is the line between individual freedom and responsibility towards the State. Singapore is not alone in this ,it is a question being asked by many countries in this WikiLeaks' age. Admittedly the play ends in a sort of comprised solution that does not seem to be in the best interest of all concerned.
No better solution to this question would be to revisit Socrates' last days in Ancient Athens condemned to death for corrupting the youth of the city by his encouragement to seek the true nature of all opinion. Socrates argues in Crito that as he has spent his entire life (some 70 years) enquiring into the nature of truth this being the guiding principle of his discourses. It would be impossible for him change direction now and escape into exile rather than accept his city's verdict. He argues that as a citizen of Athens his first loyalty is to the state before any other considerations on the grounds that it gave him life,education and security.By living in the city all his life he confirms his respect for its laws. Athens as we know moved between democracy and oligarchy which resulted in its defeat by Sparta and eventual conquest by the Romans.
Unlike the west ,Singapore operates on what I like to think as a Chinese family with specific divisions of responsibility and loyalty between its parts.In the past there has been an assumption that Westernisation of Asian countries would lead to some sort of abandonment of their inherited culture. This naturally has not been the case, just look at the Chinese family as against a western one.
Some will argue that this is all very well, but if laws are unjust a citizen has an obligation to challenge them even though such a course of action may lead to anarchy. Socrates at no point encouraged such a direction , rather he felt ill fitting laws needed to be modified through reason.
George Orwell's "Homage to Catolonia" deals with his experiences during the Spanish Civil War and his disillusionment with all the competing factions is laid bear. Their failure to come together lead to the loss of the war and the consequence that followed.
Finally there is no such thing as perfect government only ones of half truths ,all we can hope for is the best outcome among the competing ideas, the same may be said about families.

No comments: