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Singapore’s approach, by contrast, is for the government to provide people with assets that allow them to look after themselves. Good education for all is one big part of it. The other mainstay is the Central Provident Fund. A fifth of everybody’s salary goes into their account at the CPF, with the employer contributing another 15.5%. That provides Singaporeans with the capital to pay for their own housing, pensions and health care and their children’s tertiary education.
There is a small safety net to cover the very poor and the very sick. But people are expected to look after their parents and pay for government services, making co-payments for health care. The older Mr Lee especially dislikes free universal benefits. Once you have given a subsidy, he says, it is always hard to withdraw it. He is convinced that if you want to help people, it is better to give them cash rather than provide a service, whose value nobody understands. China, he thinks, will eventually follow Singapore’s model.
But arguably the place that should be learning most from Singapore is the West. For all the talk about Asian values, Singapore is a pretty Western place. Its model, such as it is, combines elements of Victorian self-reliance and American management theory. The West could take in a lot of both without sacrificing any liberty. Why not sack poor teachers or pay good civil servants more? And do Western welfare states have to be quite so buffet-like?
By the same token, Singapore’s government could surely relax its grip somewhat without sacrificing efficiency. That might help it find a little more of the entrepreneurial vim it craves.

A. 어휘
assets 資産(자산). mainstay 대들보. contribute 寄與(기여)하다, 기부하다.
tertiary 제 3의, 제 3기. tertiary education 고등교육.
free universal benefits 보편적 무료 혜택. subsidy 보조금.
withdraw 撤回(철회)하다. arguably 논증가능하게도.
self-reliance 자립, 자기의존. sack 잘라내다. poor teachers 무능한 교사.
By the same token 같은 이유로, 그 증거로. grip 지배력, 통제, 掌握(장악).
vim 활력, 원기.