“Tech” could push our society in two different directions in the forthcoming Trump administration. They could both be called the Singaporean model. But one could be an embrace of Singapore’s authoritarianism, while the other is an embrace of Singapore’s openness to real technological change. You could guess which I prefer.

The inspiration for the instant exposition is a recent Persuasion podcast on the “Singaporean model” of development. In the episode, Singaporean journalist and activist Melissa Chen (also a contributing editor to The Spectator and cofounder of Ideas Beyond Borders) cites interest among Silicon Valley “tech bros” in the ideas of Lee Kuan Yew.

It’s an active area, but I am not a close follower of new ideologies percolating in “tech.” A favorite critic, though, is David Z. Morris, whose dogged outrage at “effective altruism,” Sam Bankman-Fried, and Bankman-Fried’s parents will be published in book form next fall.

Lee was the foresighted father of modern Singapore, including its stunted politics. While the city-state has become a leading economic power in its region, its success has always been shadowed by its authoritarianism. It seems only a matter of time before the excellent bureaucracy Lee cultivated morphs into something less excellent and decidedly more controlling. We shall see.

But not without reason, Silicon Valley’s “tech bros” see sharply run Singapore as a model for the nation. While the Trump administration gets the much-ballyhooed criminals off the streets and ejects the “’illegals,’” why not clear out the regulatory underbrush and below-average regulators? (Almost half are below average, you know.) Juice the economy and control some wanton spending!

I’m alluding, of course, to Donald Trump’s formative extra-governmental agency, the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), to be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. That acronym alludes to a crypto meme coin, but we’ll return to crypto in a minute.

As one who has argued against the regulatory state for decades, I must start by lauding the goals. Of course, we want a more vibrant economy, the reduction of stifling regulation, and vastly less profligate and politicized spending. I yearn—yearn!

But there’s the good and lasting way to do it, and there’s the other way. Much of the sludge in government came about for good reason. If you are going to clear it out willy-nilly, you must run roughshod over basic governmental structures and power arrangements. Sarah Isgur and David French handle many dimensions of this in their recent Dispatch podcast, “DOGE v. the Administrative State.” As for the probability of success, I’ve been amused by the inside joke that DOGE is the “MAGA Simpson-Bowles.”

I know of no direct line from Lee’s thinking to Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s, but it was fascinating to learn from Chen that Lee stoutly rejected any cult of personality. That makes him different from Musk, Ramaswamy, and their political patron Trump. America in the 21st century is the polar opposite of Singapore in the 20th. Don’t kill the messenger.

So what is the other Singaporean model? I often joke that I “can’t not write about cryptocurrency.”

Since early in the history of crypto, Singapore has embraced the technology and sought to build compatible governmental and societal institutions. The Monetary Authority of Singapore works hard in various ways to create a friendly and safe environment for crypto entrepreneurship.

Business intelligence platform Statista summarizes it this way:

Singapore plays a leading role in boosting cryptocurrency adoption in the Asia-Pacific region, with about 627 million U.S. dollars in funding for cryptocurrency companies in 2023, across 88 deals. The country’s objective is to strengthen its position as an international financial hub, through digital innovation, as well as the development of fintech. The country benefits from a highly connected population, an excellent telecommunications network, and a skilled workforce, making it a favorable environment for crypto adoption.

That is the polar opposite of the United States during the Biden administration. In embracing crypto during his campaign, Trump found a politically profitable seam between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the one hand and our national zeitgeist on the other. Trump’s administration promises to be much friendlier to crypto. Following through will bring much more economic and technical development in this cutting-edge field to the United States, with substantial attendant benefits.

These two Singaporean models are not in conflict. We could have both. Despite the reservations I express above, I wish the Trump administration success in its government reform efforts—lasting success. That might require firm and modest efforts instead of draconian ones. Firm forward steps on cryptocurrency policy can generate good outcomes for our nation and world. Let’s have the foresight of a Lee without the centralized power that characterizes the Singaporean state.

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