Collectivism and Coercion: The Social Practice of ‘Sharing’ and Distinctive Uses of the Verb ‘Share’ in Contemporary Singapore

Abstract

In the context of contemporary Singapore, this chapter investigates the social practice of ‘sharing’ (particularly in white-collar workplace settings) and distinctive uses of the verb ‘share’. It is argued that both should be understood in relation to what might be called the dominant discourse in Singapore, a worldview largely shaped and promoted by the People’s Action Party (PAP), which has formed the government from independence onwards. Some features of this dominant discourse are highlighted, including certain keywords and conceptual metaphors, all of which, it is argued, point towards a collectivist outlook, in which the needs and wants of the individual are subordinated to the requirements of the nation, as specified by the PAP. It is concluded that the various phenomena described are best understood by taking into account the collectivism or paternalism of the ruling party and that, in essence, the force exerted by the dominant discourse amounts to a form of coercion. Finally, it is suggested that further research in the area by ‘insider’ researchers or by those from other theoretical perspectives, such as those using natural semantic metalanguage as an analytic framework, might prove fruitful.