Book review: This is What Inequality Looks Like, No one should have to be super in order to be human. however, due to timetabling reasons, i ended up clearing an equivalent of it on exchange last semester. Why should we try? naturally, i assumed that the author, who is a local university professor, was an NUS prof. seemingly unrelated backstory is that there's this sociology module called hs2008 social class and inequality which i'm eligible for and have been wanting to take for my second major and which was also recommended to me in year 1 by a ppga senior who said it was the best module she had ever taken in ntu (heads up to any ntu student who might ever come across this – you've been warned). This book—an ethnography of inequality—addresses these questions. The book does not tell us what we don’t already know, but rather makes us painfully aware of what we have chosen to be complicit to as a society. Associate Professor Teo You Yenn's book This Is What Inequality Looks Like – one of the best-selling local books in 2018 – has helped propel inequality to the forefront of political discussions. But not doing so would be maintaining a blind eye to an issue that we collectively have the power to alleviate. Inequality has been flying off the bookshelves and for good reason too. First up, thank you, thank you, thank you. The notion that meritocracy is “fair” and the stigma that poor people don’t work hard is also wrong! Photo by Teo You Yenn, 2015. Wikipedia Citation. This is a book about inequality in Singapore, based on 3 years' worth of ethnographic research by Teo. but, you can't publish a book explicitly on inequality in singapore and barely mention race. Teo is a sociologist and Associate Professor with Nanyang Technological University. Second, to illustrate how people’s experiences are linked to structural conditions of inequality. We owe Teo You Yenn a huge thank you: there's been a fair bit of good writing, good producing and good discussion relating to inequality in Singapore (i.e. And any Singaporean who still has a stake in this land, cannot and should not be blind. As I continued reading, I found myself gaining less and less from each additional page that I read, and ultimately stopped about halfway through. This is especially jarring for those in a position of privilege who hold the greatest instrument for change, will we be brave enough to make choices that places us at a ‘disadvantage’ for the pursuit of equality? May also saw the launch of “ What older people need in Singapore: A households budgets study ”, a Minimum Income Standard research project I undertook with collaborators, Ng Kok Hoe, Neo Yu Wei, and Ad Maulod. teo's official reasoning is that analysing racism obscures the class-based factors which affect the low-income in Singapore. It dawned on me after a few seconds that the author Prof Teo You Yenn was trying to convey a message to the readers that one has to uncover to find inequality in Singapore. While I don’t agree with all her ideas, it was interesting to read how subtle differences in infrastructure and, of course, policy further enhances the divide. Best book I’ve read so far on Singapore - for someone interested in public policy and concerned about what we need to do to bring about greater human flourishing here. And it is about how once we see, we cannot, must not, unsee. If you want to take the Red Pill and wake up, this is a good place to sta, Poor people really do exist in Singapore. This is a very, very important book, not just on inequality and poverty, but as a great tool to allow yourself to learn how to be more critical and observant of structural processes and how they interact to influence an individual's life and choices in ways we don't usually think about. i was prompted to read this by an NUS friend who had been assigned a chapter from here as a reading for one of his general education mods. A coruscating examination of inequality in Singapore and the attitudes which perpetuate it. Yes but not entirely true. dr teo gives a scathing critique of how the state's narrative of meritocracy legitimises and determines who deserves care, and who will be irrevocably excluded from said care. I've always loved looking for the dirt underneath the glam, this book does just that and I even learnt things about my own country. Youyenn Teo. Singapore has always been packaged as glitzy and glamourous, I mean we are that but we also do have those who fall through the cracks. How might they be overcome? How are they reproduced? This book—an ethnography of inequality—addresses these questions. Each aims to accomplish two things: first, to introduce a key aspect of the experience of being low-income in contemporary Singapore. This book is about poverty and inequality in Singapore. ), but I think This Is What Inequality Looks Like is a piece that brings together these scattered conversations, grounds them in empirical, ethnographic experience and presented in writing that's meant for the general public and not just academics. Read it! First up, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is not typical practice in academic writing. 2018, This is what inequality looks like / essays by Teo You Yenn Ethos Books Singapore. 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. This collection of essays by Teo You Yenn about inequality in Singapore is brilliant. It is either you understand the message or think that she is blaming the government. Based on her years of fieldwork and research with the low-income in Singapore, this compilation of essays reveals in detail their daily lives and struggles. dr teo gives a scathing critique of how the state's narrative of meritocracy legitimises and determines who deserves care, and who will be irrevocably excluded from said care. Teo’s style of writing is personal, clean, succinct, and easy to understand, allowing anyone to look at inequality and poverty from a sociological lens without having to wade through academic writing. This is a book about how seeing poverty entails confronting inequality. Teo's essay is reproduced in full here: In particular, she brilliantly points out the contradiction between the state-sponsored narrative and the unpleasant reality of living in a post-industrial capitalist hellscape: Never has a non-fiction book been such a pleasure to read. This is What Inequality Looks Like--Preface. teo's official reasoning is that analysing rac. Poverty can only be fully understood in the context of the structural forces that perpetuate it. classism is not exempt from this. “Stories about poverty and inequality create a lot of discomfort,” writes Teo You Yenn in her startling non-fiction debut, This is What Inequality Looks Like. This was a great title for a book. but we are unequal precisely because of racism. nothing of how classism in singapore is tied to racist policies and attitudes. Why should we try? in this regard, the book is a sharp and insightful look at how singapore's neo-liberalist policies work to absolve the state from any complicity in reproducing classism in the country. An article in The Straits Times mentioned that it is one of the best-selling local books, with 20,000 copies sold so far. The way we frame our questions shapes the way we see solutions. Formed by a series of essays, they are written to be read individually, but have been arranged to be read as a totality and in sequence. The author has eloquently given voice to those who bear the brunt of inequality in wealthy Singapore. In This is What Inequality Looks Like, Teo You Yenn writes a moving collection of essays that shine the light on a reality long swept under the carpets of gleaming, green and glamourous Singapore. This book does what appears to be a no-brainer task, but one that is missing and important: it asks readers to pose questions in different ways, to shift the vantage point from which they view ‘common sense,’ and in so doing, to see themselves as part of problems and potential solutions. This is What Inequality Looks Like is an anthology of essays related to inequality in Singapore written by associate professor of sociology at the Nanyang Technological University, Teo You Yenn, drawing on interviews and experiences with low-income Singaporeans over the period of three years. The thing about this book is: it is easy to see why it is hated, generally taken down constantly by critics and government agencies, social workers giving it flack for a narrative they feel is unfairly representative of their kind. Start by marking “This Is What Inequality Looks Like” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I myself, a Singaporean whom come from a low-income family fully. CNA's wonderful series "Don't Call Us Poor"; numerous articles, speeches on meritocracy and its discontents by various people from all walks of life - Donald Low, Bilahari Kausikan, etc etc. This is a book about how seeing poverty entails confronting inequality. While the government has introduced policy changes, community groups… A new, second edition of This Is What Inequality Looks Like hit bookstores in May 2019. The thing about this book is: it is easy to see why it is hated, generally taken down constantly by critics and government agencies, social workers giving it flack for a narrative they feel is unfairly representative of their kind. Immediately caught my attention and I thought I had to read it. CNA's wonderful series "Don't Call Us Poor"; numerous articles, speeches on meritocracy and its discontents by various people from all walks of life - Donald Low, Bilahari Kausikan, etc etc. but, you can't publish a book explicitly on inequality in singapore and barely mention race. once again, because racism is too strong a word. Teo You Yenn is the author of "This Is What Inequality Looks Like" and an Associate Professor and Head of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University. Hopefully this book will be a call to to look our attitudes towards tackling poverty and inequality in Singapore. Left implicit is that those at the bottom have failed to be deserving.”, “The respect I am accorded are conditional on my participation in society as an economically productive and relatively wealthy person. Yes the low income people have dignity as well, just like people from the middle and upper classes. This is a book about how seeing poverty entails confronting inequality. Formed by a series of essays, they are written to be read individually, but have been arranged to be read as a totality and in sequence. she crudely admits that she only included "a memo on race" at the request of her publishers. This New Edition of This Is What Inequality Looks Like by Teo You Yenn features a new Afterword by the author, and a Foreword by Kwok Kian Woon, Professor of Sociology at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Each aims to accomplish two things: first, to introduce a key aspect of the experience of being low-income in contemporary Singapore.

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