Spór o azjatyckie wartości. Porządek aksjologiczny Singapuru w ujęciu Lee Kuan Yew

Abstract

The dispute over Asian values was one of the most important political tools in Southeast Asia
in the 1990s. The Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, used this concept to describe the
axiological order that prevails in the so-called Eastern Tigers – Asian metropolises that developed
very quickly economically, not accepting all the standards of Western democracy. This
article analyzes the dispute over Asian values, which was particularly acute at the end of the
last century. It is based on two questions: Are human rights universal? And What is the optimal
ratio of freedom to social control of the state apparatus? The work introduces the political model
created by Lee Kuan Yew – known as the Sage from the East, whose legal and social solutions
constitute a development model for the entire East Asia. Today, as the political presence of Asia,
and especially of China, is felt more and more around the world, the dispute over Asian values
is re-emerging.