Communism failed due to flawed economic ideology

In an interview with Time magazine, the Prime Minister said: “If we were (a) godless society, we would have many other problems, the communists found that out.” (“We welcome criticism within constraints, says Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong”; July 23, Channel NewsAsia)

This statement seems to make two implications: First, that communism failed because it was irreligious; second, that to be godless would bring problems for Singapore and society in general.

The Humanist Society (Singapore) and the Leftwrite Center disagree respectfully with the two implications. First, it is true that the communist ideology does not include religion per se. The same is true, however, of most political ideologies, including democracy.

The only political position that takes religion into account is theocracy, where the national religion is part of the country’s constitution or method of governance. Modern theocracies have a mixed record of success; these include Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Communism failed not because of its position on religion but due to a flawed economic ideology and mythical meta-historical ideas such as dialectic materialism. Most importantly, it does not take into account the nature of humans to want to compete and succeed.

Recent history shows that a state’s success or failure has more to do with its economic and political ideologies, governance, people and external factors beyond the state’s control than with religiosity.

To address the second point about godlessness, we wish to point to several democracies where religious affiliation is dropping: Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Although many in these countries retain religious affiliation, few consider religion an important part of everyday life. Yet, these nations enjoy some of the best quality of life in the world and are hardly problematic or failed states.

As of the last Singapore census in 2010, 17 per cent of the resident population aged 15 years and above were recorded as having no religion. These atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and others with no formal religious affiliation live, work and play peacefully with their neighbours and help contribute to the success of Singapore, a democratic society based on justice and equality, and not God or gods.

While we acknowledge the positive role religion can play in society, we must not lose sight of the secular basis of our state.

The Leftwrite Center is an enterprise that aims to promote civic social participation and awareness on various social and religious issues in Singapore society.