AQ/Caleb Seow/10s403

I think the author's view of murder and violence being linked to nations with a larger income inequality in passage one, and the author's point on violence and riots occuring most commonly in destitute neighbourhoods hihgly inapplicable to the Singaporean society i live in.

The author states that "murder and violence are higher in nations with the largest income inequality". A large income gap may create tension in a society. The rich and poor may live separately,with the rich, not wishing to be acquainted with the poor, may form a sense of social class or hierarchy, with the poor at the very bottom of the social pyramid. The rich may take advantage of their increased social leverage, by exploiting labor from the poor, or even reducing them to slavery with minimal basic necessities. This creates tension among the poor, who may feel unfairness and demand for equality. Due to their lack of social power, they may resort to physical forms of attaining power, resulting in murders and violence. One such example would be South Africa, where the blacks are deemed as a lower social class due to their skin colour and income levels. The whites constantly exploit the native blacks, which created much tension in their society. This led to many riots and revolts against the whites, as the blacks demanded for basic human rights and the need for equality. However, this is not applicable to the singaporean society context, as the our society does not have a very large income inequality gap. In Singapore, the government ensures that everyone is provided with primary to secondary education. This immediately ensures that everyone is capable of holding jobs of a certain academic standard, thus eliminating the level of income inequality between the educated and non-educated. In Singapore, financial support schemes are also given to the poor. Such schemes and policies allow them to obtain basic necessities such as housing and food. This effectively lowers the income gap. There will be no discrimination towards the poor as everyone is on the same socio-economic level, and the poor need not resort to violence to attain basic necessities as they can rely on the government to provide for them. Therefore, the author's point is inapplicable to our society.

the author in passage 2, claims that riots are geographically and socially circumscribed, with almost all occurring in destitute neighborhoods. Yet again, this view is inapplicable to the Singaporean society, for the very reason that there are hardly or almost no destitute neighbourhoods in Singapore. Being such a small yet populous city, we have about 7022 people per square metre. This makes it impossible to have destitute neighbourhoods, where land is so limited and people cover every inch of the area. Next, Singapore enforces many strict laws on rioting in the nation. This laws are easily enforced, with Singapore being such a small country. therefore, the authors point is inapplicable to our society