Name: This is what Inequality Looks Like
ISBN: 9789811436222

Youyenn Teo

What is poverty? What is inequality? How are they connected? How are they reproduced? How might they be overcome? Why should we try?


The way we frame our questions shapes the way we see solutions. 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 a book about how seeing poverty entails confronting inequality. It is about how acknowledging poverty and inequality leads to uncomfortable revelations about our society and ourselves. And it is about how once we see, we cannot, must not, unsee.

Essays

This is what Inequality Looks Like

Chaitanya Baranwal

This Is What Inequality Looks Like is a book about poverty in Singapore, and how this poverty relates to inequality. It is a book about how all of us play a part in shaping the situations of low-income groups, and that it is not just the responsibility of affected peoples. I remember how in a university module we were all supposed to make one picture to represent what Singapore is to us, and how a lot of us ended up drawing the Marina Bay skyline as a testament of the development Singapore has achieved in a short while. This book drew attention over something which is rarely a part of conversations all this time I've lived in Singapore (but something which has always been present) – that once we look away from the skyline, we realise that stark inequalities exist in Singapore, and there are lives which are significantly different from the glamour a lot us attribute to the country.

The book's prose is quite easy to read and not riddled with technicalities about policies and poverty. Each chapter of the book is written as a story in first person, where Teo You Yenn narrates her conversations with low-income people, and narrates what she has heard first-hand about the treatments and experiences low-income people face. At times she draws contrast to the popular narratives of "development" and "comfortable life" in Singapore, at times she draws contrast to the starkly different lives led by wealthier families. In each chapter though, I could sense that her central thesis was this: unlike popular narratives, the situation of low-income people is not always a result of their decisions and actions, but also caused and amplified by the Singaporean welfare system which approaches the issue of poverty with certain prejudices. Thus, the issue of poverty is not only a problem of "them" (the low-income people), but also a problem of "us" (policymakers and relatively wealthier sections of society).

Some criticisms about the book I have heard are that it is "not objective enough", and does not draw as much from quantitative evidence as it does from qualitative evidence. Other criticisms talk about how the book "uses emotion" to draw a point. However, TYY's point is that to understand how inequality looks like in Singapore, we need to move away from KPIs and numbers and look at the lived experiences of people from low-income gorups. Only then will we truly be able to understand the hardships they go through which relatively wealthier sections of the society do not. The kind of inequality she is drawing attention to might not be the primary issue in countries like India (where the situation is probably much worse), but it is the kind of inequality which exists in Singapore and is not given attention to. The book expanded my perspectives about Singapore, and it is definitely worth a read.

Pamela Koh

Every Singaporean or anyone with a Singaporean mindset should read this. A refreshing voice, a sobering read.

Faith Ho 

some reflections: 
- the power in this book does not like only or mainly (imo) in the ideas it expouses & revealling the realities of low income families in singapore… rather, what comes across most powerfully to me is the empathetic & reflective lens placed on this issue of inequality. it doesn’t end up merely being a “this is what it’s like” discussion but situates it in personal reflections (especially on parenthood) & a constantly very empathetic perspective that forces me to sit and think about perspectives, ideas & notions i & singapore as a society hv.
--> especially situating it not as a “study of them” but “study of us”, in the sense that all of us are implicated in this inequality. situating it in the larger context of singapore (fitting that it’s what inequality looks like rather than urban poverty bcos truly a study of both & people across the whole range of socioeconomic class)
--> struck by how it constantly it does call back to the individual & societal shifts in values (e.g. valuing work, standing up against a very narrow-minded academic system) beyond even policy shifts/what the government should do. → not just targetted or calling on policymakers but a CALL FOR EVERY SINGAPOREAN
- personal reflections - the last time i read this was back when i was in secondary school and had jst started doing community service (with kids frm disadvantaged backgrounds). now ive graduated jc, continuing volunteering in various means for about 5+ years now… and truly (especially frm this internship!!): the more i know, the more i realise i don’t know. very humbling & re-reading this book also makes me realise all these other aspects of peoples’ lives that i also dont & havent seen in this giant tapestry of singapore. & my bumbling efforts to “help” & retrospectively seeing how many misconceived notions ive had !!
--> many of these ideas ive seen come up often these few years so although it’s been a while the ideas seem things that ive been reiterated, whether in GP lessons or discussions on social issues or articles ive read e.g. flaws of meritocracy; and many of these problems faced by lower income families & people i also see in my work… but this helps situate it in a larger context.
--> also been wondering… how much has changed? did this book spark these discourses or hv they been festering… and how has it influenced both 1) discourse and 2) action (one leading to the other).

faith’s chaotic summary: 
1. step 1: disrupt the narrative: critique of meritocracy (personal narrative, inherently leads to unequal outcomes, based narrowly on academic success & certain values, misrecognition) 
2. everyday lives: external (high density, strong smell & negative messaging) & internal (TVs as neccessity) environment of low income households; insecurities due to 1) experience of homelessness, 2) experiences of rules processes renewals 3) normative beliefs abt ownership
3. work-life balance should not be a privilege: children overwhelmingly the biggest concern, but care gaps (e.g. childcare very reliant on meeting specific employment criteria) due to nature of low income work (in formal & substantive aspects); institutionalised prejudice against lower-educated mothers
4. i want my children better than me: children as “projects” of middle/upper income families v sources of joy for lower income families. “… reveal the deep inequalities embedded in our education system—the focus on narrow definitions of abilities, the demand for precocity, the reliance on parental involvement and commercial services, together undermine the democratic promise and potential of mass education.” 
5. growing up without class protections: youths’ complex needs 1) space, paid activities & pocket money 2) time, leisure & memories
6. differentiated deservedness: *most crucial chapter in terms of interrogating state policies & narratives in how they inform the lives of the low-income. key critiques of the “aid” — 1) specific criteria for aid which panders to narrow norms (nuclear family with traditional gender roles & “norm” of sustained continual employment) 2) narrowly targetted (which creates indignity) 3) focuses on individualism (contradictory to national discourse around community/greater good). critique of reforms — 1) against universalism (against redistribution, means-tested help, ghettosization of poverty i.e. help “them”), 2) family centric (which reinforces dispropportionate burden on women). way forward — disrupt differentiated deservedness 
7. wants, needs, dignity: reframing frm wants v needs to “dignity needs”, where we need smth bcos in specific social contexts to belong
8. dignity is like clean air: you don’t notice it until it’s gone. should not be conditional. critiques of the social service sector (system rather than the people ) — 1) spliced into many narrowly targetted bits which are narrow in scope & may not address larger systemic problems e.g. education system, low wage work due to influx of foreign labour 2) funding from MSF focused on achieving KPIs 3) focus on “changing mindset” for empowerment but materially lack power 4) stigma of receiving financial aid. “As long as our wellbeing and worth as persons are deeply linked to economic productivity, income, a specific way of doing family, then every person's dignity is essentially at risk. In this ethos, no one has inherent worth as persons.” 
9. airing dirty laundry: discomfort when national narrative (which = internal narrative) is challenged; feel shld not tell non-singaporeans (nationalistic mindset) 
10. a memo on “race”: tldr unable to say more (i think def worth a further discussion though!) 
11. now what?

Sarah Pino

A lot to take in. 

Very important read for Singaporeans

Victoria Simansjah

Great book. Super relateable and easy to digest. Insightful in every chapter. Makes you question inequalities in other countries. Living in Indonesia, i look up a lot to Singapore. But its crazy because we get to see so much glam and not the vast difference in income gap. Eye opening. Profound. Highly recommended

This is what Inequality Looks Like Essays

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