This is What Inequality Looks Like, by Teo You Yenn

Abstract

The book This is What Inequality Looks Like (henceforth referred to as “TIWILL”), written by the sociologist Teo You Yenn, has gained widespread acclaim. Public intellectuals have acknowledged it the 2018 “Book of the Year”, and it has ranked among the top non-fiction best sellers in local Singaporean bookstores (Singapore Unbound 2018). Specifically, it has been considered a “masterfully crafted text”, “probably the year’s single most valuable intervention in Singapore’s public discourse, in any medium”, and one that challenges the dominant state narrative regarding social policy (George, 2018; Sinha, 2018).

Teo’s book is consciously anti-establishment and seeks to “disrupt the narrative” (Teo, 2018). It challenges the incumbent People action Party (PAP) government’s narrative and approach towards social policy. She shows that current policies are inadequate and require reform. Moreover, she shatters the popular image of Singapore as a place of affluent prosperity by uncovering the hidden realities of under-privilege. It exposes a side of Singapore that is seldom seen in public: ordinary people struggling to make ends meet, those who may have fallen through the cracks in a society that prizes meritocracy, self-reliance and individualized welfare assistance.