Singapore is an interesting case because it looks great on paper but it’s arguably one of the worst/best form of authoritarianism. For example, ~80% of Singaporeans live in public housing, which they don’t technically own (99 year lease), whose rules are dictated by a government agency. Eg, there are police cameras right up to the apartment lifts and every entry/exit; the number of pets they’re allowed to own is regulated and interestingly less than those living in private property arbitrarily (without consideration for property size). Nevermind the complete lack of civil liberties and high gini coefficient/inequality.
Living in a police state can be awesome, if you don’t want to dissent. Way less crime, no homeless drug users living on the city streets, etc. For a law-abiding middle-class person, Singapore isn’t too terrible
If living in the US means contending with roving gangs of masked men snatching up people off the streets, looking at living conditions in other police states, like how their housing policy means ordinary middle class people can still afford a place to live, or how their healthcare system means medical bankruptcy is not a thing, seems like it would be possible to have a reasonable discussion about. If the US is no longer a place where a TV show host can no longer make fun of the President or else his show gets canceled, is it really that far off from China's handling of Pooh bear memes and Xi?
