Talk:People's Action Party

Democracy

It is an authoritarian party and from the state there is a tendency towards indoctrination. To say that it is only because of the economy, that people vote for them is nonsense. Marcos96a (talk) 17:08, 18 February 2022 (UTC)

I agree. It seems totally inappropriate to barely even hint at what political scientists recognise to be Singapore’s significant lack of democracy in many areas. There should certainly be a reference in the introductory paragraph to Singapore’s quasi-authoritarian system of government. Anybody reading the intro would assume the PAP is analogous to a typical democratic political party, which is an absurd suggestion given Singapore’s system o government. 150.203.2.220 (talk) 12:04, 27 September 2022 (UTC)

Third Way

I object to the inclusion of "Third Way" as an ideology. Of the three references, the first is from 1999 and does not explicitly say that the PAP is "third way", but that the "Asian values" of LKY represent a third way; the second is from a website that is not running (at the time of writing); the third does not say that the PAP are "third way", let alone in this ideological sense, instead it says that the PAP is a conservative party and suggests classical liberalism as an alternative to the PAP and the left-liberal opposition. Because of this, I am removing it. Horarum (talk) 21:35, 20 May 2025 (UTC)

The first source talks about the Third Way of the one Clinton and others. It say's that Singapore find also a third way, which is similar to the one of Blair. 89.12.184.135 (talk) 00:14, 23 May 2025 (UTC)

The IP user that responded is a long term abuser (LTA) that has been blocked over and over. Keep an eye out for if/when they return to this page to add the ideology back. They really enjoy adding poorly-sourced ideologies to pages; the ideologies are often derived from WP:SYNTH or WP:OR, using extra reasoning not employed by the source. grapesurgeon (seefooddiet) (talk) 16:35, 6 June 2025 (UTC)

Revisit the political position

The reference that describes the PAP as a centre-right party is a dead link and an old source from 2002. The PAP has evolved ideologically since then, softening on its social views and adopting a centrist approach to governance. I would suggest changing the political position to Centre to Centre-right. GodzillamanRor (talk) 13:23, 7 June 2025 (UTC)

@GodzillamanRor Find a source. – robertsky (talk) 14:40, 7 June 2025 (UTC)

Page 115 of https://www.academia.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/George-2020-Opposing-dominant-party.pdf . It describes the PAP as a centrist party that appeals to a large spectrum of Singaporeans and taking the middle ground. GodzillamanRor (talk) 05:48, 8 June 2025 (UTC)

The dead link has been fixed. I’d say the PAP can be seen as a big-tent party, since it adopts policies from both the left and the right. But at its core, it’s been a conservative party for decades that leans more to the right, so I think describing it as centre-right is still the most accurate, based on various sources. I don’t think the PAP’s ideology has changed much since the book was published in 2002, unless Lawrence Wong suddenly goes back to the party’s roots and becomes a democratic socialist, which seems pretty unlikely. MordukhovichAleakin (talk) 17:29, 8 June 2025 (UTC)

Sorry for the late reply, I agree with you. PAP is still relatively leaning to the right. GodzillamanRor (talk) 10:24, 15 June 2025 (UTC)

Authoritarianism

Can you please add authoritariansim to the infobox? SSSEuropa (talk) 06:54, 20 July 2025 (UTC)

Didn't you acknowledge robertsky's explanation on your own talk page over this? Aleain (talk) 06:26, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

Proposed update to Ideology (sourcing attached)

Proposed update to Ideology section (request for consensus)

Hi everyone,

I’d like to propose a balanced update to the Ideology section and infobox to better reflect how the People’s Action Party is described in scholarly and institutional sources. The current version emphasises conservatism and economic liberalism, which are accurate in part, but omit other equally well-documented ideological characteristics such as pragmatism, communitarianism, developmental statism / state capitalism, and technocratic governance.

These terms appear widely in academic literature and official discourse, and including them would ensure a more neutral and comprehensive representation consistent with WP:NPOV, WP:RS, and WP:V.

Proposed Infobox Ideology (new wording)

Ideology: Pragmatism; Meritocracy; Communitarianism; Developmental state (State capitalism); Technocratic governance; Social conservatism; Economic liberalism; Civic nationalism; Secularism

(Each term supported by citations below)

Supporting citations (non-exhaustive)

• Pragmatism / Technocracy:
  • Tan, Kenneth Paul (2012). “The Ideology of Pragmatism in Singapore: A Critical History.” Journal of Contemporary Asia, 42(1), 1–21.
  • Barr, Michael D. (2014). The Ruling Elite of Singapore: Networks of Power and Influence. I.B. Tauris.
• Communitarianism:
  • Chua, Beng Huat (1995). Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore. Routledge.
• Developmental State / State Capitalism:
  • Low, Donald & Vadaketh, Sudhir Thomas (2014). Hard Choices: Challenging the Singapore Consensus. NUS Press.
  • Stubbs, Richard (2009). “The Developmental State and Singapore: The Politics of the Asian Economic Miracle.” Asian Studies Review, 33(1), 1–19.
• Meritocracy / Governance Culture:
  • Quah, Jon S.T. (2010). “Public Administration Singapore-Style.” Emerald Group Publishing.

These works, among others, characterise the PAP not simply as conservative or liberal, but as a technocratic, communitarian, and pragmatic ruling party whose policy orientation combines market economics with strong state direction.

Rationale

• The “major conservative party” phrasing in the lead may misrepresent the PAP’s multi-faceted ideological basis.
• Updating to include these sourced terms avoids synthesis while reflecting the balance of reliable academic commentary.
• This wording keeps “conservatism” and “economic liberalism” but adds context for the developmental and technocratic dimensions central to the PAP’s governance philosophy.

Milkman Localist (talk) 17:25, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Members of the first People's Action Party Central Executive Committee, 1954.png

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 06:06, 28 December 2025 (UTC)