Development Success in Asia Pacific: An Exercise in Normative-Pragmatic Balance

Many new social and economic organisations are emerging in different parts of Asia Pacific which have skillfully adapted western capitalism to suit their own specific requirements. They have also put to use effectively their own social and cultural values to get the best economic results. Japan used its heritage of associated living to overcome adversarial labour and management relations; Singapore made use of Confucian emphasis on social discipline and respect for merit to build a meritocratic society; Indonesia used its genius for eclecticism to build its own brand of social pragmatism, and then used it for economic growth; Thailand used the concept of merit in Theravada Buddhism to accelerate economic growth; and Malaysia used its own growing pragmatism to balance conflicting ethnic demands. This book examines the variety of normative-pragmatic balances attempted by the six ASEAN countries to address their respective core development issues and simultaneously register an explosive economic growth.