Goh Keng Swee on Class Conflict

Goh Keng Swee believed that class conflict was an outmoded 19th century concept. He believed that

"When organized labour believes that it can improve its position only by downing the other side, disaster soon overtakes the economy."

- Goh Keng Swee (1968 address to NTUC trainees)

However, Goh Keng Swee also believed that employers had to treat worker's fairly given the implied concession from labour. On one occasion, he warned employers at the Singapore Manufacturer's Association that the "unthinking and unenlightened employer who pushes his labour force around" would be dealt with severely by the government.

Attribution: This content has been largely lifted from The New Paper's Founding Fathers series.