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A review by jwsg
This Is What Inequality Looks Like by Teo You Yenn
5.0
This is a book about inequality in Singapore, based on 3 years' worth of ethnographic research by Teo. In it, Teo seeks to force deeper reflection about the narratives we tell ourselves about inequality and poverty in Singapore - that the story of Singapore is unequivocally one of progress from Third World to First; that while there is poverty (there is poverty everywhere after all), the poor here have it better than their counterparts elsewhere, with roofs over their heads, plenty of government assistance, and opportunities for advancement; that the winners and losers in Singapore are the natural outcome of meritocracy at work - and if you are one of the losers, you must lack merit in some way.
Each essay in This Is What Inequality Looks Like examines a different aspect of the low-income experience - their every day life in rental flats, how they juggle work and family commitments, parenting, how their status shapes their interactions with the government and other citizens, etc. For the winners in life's sweepstakes, it is tempting to attribute success to ambition, diligence and sheer hard work. Conversely, we apply terms like "dysfunctional" or "unmotivated" to the losers; their lack of success is the result of some moral failure and poor life choices. But we don't consider how privilege (and luck) play a role in giving one a headstart in life, in growing and entrenching that advantage.
This Is What Inequality Looks Like forces one to reframe our perspectives, by interrogating some of the assumptions we hold of the low-income. We might consider someone in a rental flat to be extravagant or to have money squirrelled away somewhere, when we see that they have fairly nice furnishings and fancy electronics like flat screen TVs. But Teo argues that "the furnishings people have reflect the excesses of Singapore society - some people with limited income have quite nice furniture because well-to-do Singaporeans throw out nice things that are still in reasonably good condition...It is worth speaking explicitly about televisions. In Singapore and elsewhere, people regularly remark that low-income persons are perhaps not as poor as they claim to be or that they are making bad choices...because they have large screen televisions. I heard this from social workers I interviewed and among people who volunteer for organisations that work with low-income families...There is a popular belief that low-income families buy appliances from furnishing/appliance chain stores and they do so because there are instalment plans. When people mention this, they are usually implying that people are not prudent and giving beyond their means...[But] a common way in which families gather the things they need in their homes - TVs, fridges, sofas, beds, washing machines, study desks - is through donations and second hand shops. People with money in Singapore buy new appliances and furnishings, upgrading to higher resolution TVs for example, before their existing sets break down. Numerous appliances and furnishings in the homes of people I visit are incongruent with their income levels. While some buy these things on instalment plans, many made a point of pointing out: "this one is from [organisation X]...that one [organisation Y] gave me"...TV sets, including large screen TVs, then, tell us less about 'bad choices' by low-income households and more about our society of high consumption and waste."
Through the experiences she describes, Teo asks the reader to consider whether the bad choices made by the low income are the result of bad circumstances (where one can only, at best, choose the option that is least bad) or because of some moral failure. Why doesn't the single mother choose to take a job that pays better, or go for training that will enable her to upgrade to a better job? (How hard can it be to make childcare arrangements for her children, such that she can take a better paying job that is further away from her home?) Why don't children from low income families work harder in school so they can secure better prospects in life? (How hard can it be to catch up with children from middle and high income families who enter school knowing how to read, write and speak fluently, and not believe from the start that one is stupid and slow? And what help can their parents possibly offer them, beyond nagging them to work harder so that they don't end up like their parents?)
This is What Inequality Looks like is thought provoking and reflective. And it is (perhaps most importantly) also highly accessible in its language and style. It forces one to re-examine one's assumptions and prejudices about the low-income, to understand a bit better the texture of the low-income experience, and to consider whether we need to reframe our narrative about inequality and poverty.
Each essay in This Is What Inequality Looks Like examines a different aspect of the low-income experience - their every day life in rental flats, how they juggle work and family commitments, parenting, how their status shapes their interactions with the government and other citizens, etc. For the winners in life's sweepstakes, it is tempting to attribute success to ambition, diligence and sheer hard work. Conversely, we apply terms like "dysfunctional" or "unmotivated" to the losers; their lack of success is the result of some moral failure and poor life choices. But we don't consider how privilege (and luck) play a role in giving one a headstart in life, in growing and entrenching that advantage.
This Is What Inequality Looks Like forces one to reframe our perspectives, by interrogating some of the assumptions we hold of the low-income. We might consider someone in a rental flat to be extravagant or to have money squirrelled away somewhere, when we see that they have fairly nice furnishings and fancy electronics like flat screen TVs. But Teo argues that "the furnishings people have reflect the excesses of Singapore society - some people with limited income have quite nice furniture because well-to-do Singaporeans throw out nice things that are still in reasonably good condition...It is worth speaking explicitly about televisions. In Singapore and elsewhere, people regularly remark that low-income persons are perhaps not as poor as they claim to be or that they are making bad choices...because they have large screen televisions. I heard this from social workers I interviewed and among people who volunteer for organisations that work with low-income families...There is a popular belief that low-income families buy appliances from furnishing/appliance chain stores and they do so because there are instalment plans. When people mention this, they are usually implying that people are not prudent and giving beyond their means...[But] a common way in which families gather the things they need in their homes - TVs, fridges, sofas, beds, washing machines, study desks - is through donations and second hand shops. People with money in Singapore buy new appliances and furnishings, upgrading to higher resolution TVs for example, before their existing sets break down. Numerous appliances and furnishings in the homes of people I visit are incongruent with their income levels. While some buy these things on instalment plans, many made a point of pointing out: "this one is from [organisation X]...that one [organisation Y] gave me"...TV sets, including large screen TVs, then, tell us less about 'bad choices' by low-income households and more about our society of high consumption and waste."
Through the experiences she describes, Teo asks the reader to consider whether the bad choices made by the low income are the result of bad circumstances (where one can only, at best, choose the option that is least bad) or because of some moral failure. Why doesn't the single mother choose to take a job that pays better, or go for training that will enable her to upgrade to a better job? (How hard can it be to make childcare arrangements for her children, such that she can take a better paying job that is further away from her home?) Why don't children from low income families work harder in school so they can secure better prospects in life? (How hard can it be to catch up with children from middle and high income families who enter school knowing how to read, write and speak fluently, and not believe from the start that one is stupid and slow? And what help can their parents possibly offer them, beyond nagging them to work harder so that they don't end up like their parents?)
This is What Inequality Looks like is thought provoking and reflective. And it is (perhaps most importantly) also highly accessible in its language and style. It forces one to re-examine one's assumptions and prejudices about the low-income, to understand a bit better the texture of the low-income experience, and to consider whether we need to reframe our narrative about inequality and poverty.