New Times, Dire Straits

Back in the day, when Tony Blair talked domestic policy rather than foreign trips to enshrine him in history, we heard a lot about the 'Third Way'. One oft-cited example of where this communitarian political approach held sway was in Singapore. (On the political right, the same approach was adopted; see Bruce Pilbeam, Conservatism in Crisis, p.124-125; click book title to buy a copy.) In response, certain critics were 'Old Labour' or unreconstructed enough to worry about whether an authoritarian city state was the way forward in Britain.

About a decade later, a mixture of domestic terrorism and anti-social behaviour - a culture of fear, to coin a phrase (not) -makes authoritarian solutions seem more acceptable. So much so that Singapore's Straits Times newspaper is reporting ASBO-mania, happy slapping etc. as matters of real concern. What a world...