Thread by @WholePicture_

Switzerland and Singapore often lead the global rankings, be it for innovation, competitiveness or citizen satisfaction. At the same time, the underlying social, economic and political systems differ significantly.

nzz.ch/pro-global/asi…

While the existence of elites is often ignored or their behavior is equated with self-enrichment, the Elite Quality Index considers elites to be neutral. Elites are a tool used to coordinate the various interests, activities and technologies in a society.

The elite theory on which the EQx is based distinguishes three types of elite: the economic elite (Money), the political elite (Might) and the intellectual elite (Mind).

The quality of the elites, that is, whether they contribute to creating value in a participatory way, or ultimately, above all, extract value for themselves, can be derived from a wealth of data.

In the recently published detailed analysis and assessment of 32 countries, the elites of Singapore and Switzerland emerged as the most value-adding elites, ahead of those of the USA or Japan, ......

.....while the elites of countries like Egypt, Argentina and South Africa - not surprisingly - ended up in the last places.

Similarities between Switzerland and Singapore are the high density of billionaires, the high level of satisfaction and the important importance of international free trade.

The elite in Singapore make decisions centrally, and it is difficult for outsiders to influence the decisions.

The regulatory environment protects

the rights of investors and offers perfect conditions for new companies that work on innovative business areas, for example through access to venture capital or by helping new companies enter the market.

This strong power of the elites is used to advance the economy, and then to give a large part back to the citizens.
Singapore, for example, leads in the transfer of funds to citizens and in the quality of the services offered by the administration.

Singapore's state capitalist system generates economic value through the state coordination of public and private actors, centralized planning by a technocratic government elite, and the investments of its sovereign wealth funds.

The state thus acts as an intermediary when it comes to passing on the benefits of the elite's added value in the form of social transfers, infrastructure, economic opportunities and massive public housing that houses up to 80 percent of the population.

Although the population has relatively little power over the elites, it benefits greatly from an inclusive distribution of value added.

The government in Singapore justifies its extreme concentration of power by its high performance for the population.

The elites in Switzerland are relatively limited in their power compared to other countries. Among other things because of the decentralized policy, which enables referendums.

The Swiss approach is based heavily on the federal structure in which political power is distributed at different levels, i.e. between the citizens, the communes, the cantons and the federal level, which, ....

..... in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, only makes decisions that are not at a lower level can be taken.

This logic ensures that important political decisions are made directly by the citizens or that, if they are delegated, there are clear checks and balances.

In the case of Singapore, the broad distribution of added value is only possible as long as the elite remains of high quality and above-average added value can be guaranteed by the elites.

Distributed power and added value in the interests of all, as practiced in Switzerland, can only develop as long as freedom is granted and this freedom is also used by actors in society and the economy to create value.

Singapore could further increase its sustainable value creation potential by allowing more openness to decentralized decisions, both in the largest companies, which are often owned by sovereign wealth funds, and in civil society matters.

This in order to be able to react more agile to changes in the future and thus to better satisfy emerging economic needs.

The fact that Switzerland lacks powerful elites can, however, prove to be a disadvantage in times of crisis or major technological and social upheavals.

In both examples, elites are responsible. Elites become a problem when they are not responsible and only want to enrich themselves.

An general criticism of the elites falls short of the mark, because one also has to include it when elites take on responsibility.