2018 KS Bull Issue 1

KS Bull 2018 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 1 KS Bull 2018 Issue 1 The views expressed in each essay are purely for the academic purposes of crafting a viable argumentative response. They do not necessarily reflect the personal opinions of any student or staff member, nor do they necessarily represent the perspective(s) of Raffles Institution. No portion of this collection may be reproduced or shared for any reason and by any means whatsoever. Note: The comments that follow each student response include both markers’ and editors’ comments.

KS Bull 2018 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 2 CONTENTS 2017 Year 6 GP Prelim 1 ‘Business should have no place in politics.’ Do you agree? Caleb Ho | 17S03N 4 2 Are machines making humans obsolete? Joelle Lim | 17S06N 8 3 ‘Scientific knowledge cannot be trusted because it is unreliable.’ Is this a fair assessment? Wang Tian Cheng | 17S03N 13 4 ‘In an increasingly uncertain world, there is little point in predicting the future.’ Discuss. Wang Yuxing | 17S03N 17 5 Paper 2 – Passage 22 6 Paper 2 – AQ Response Zhang Zhi | 17S06E 25 2017 Year 5 KI Promo Paper 1 – Section A 7 ‘Looking for foundational beliefs to ground knowledge is futile. It is better to examine if our beliefs cohere with other beliefs.’ Discuss. Wang Bei Ni | 17S06F 27 Paper 1 – Section B 8 Critically assess the view that human knowledge is too complex to be analysed – and known scientifically. Joey Lee | 17S03L 31 2017 Year 5 GP Promotional Examination 9 “Media regulation is needed now more than ever.” Discuss. Meng Bo Kang | 18S07A 35

KS Bull 2018 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 3 10 Consider the value of parks and natural spaces in your society. Natalie Quah | 18S06O 38 11 Paper 2 – Passages 12 Paper 2 – AQ Response Yeo Kee Hwan | 18S03Q 42 13 Paper 2 – AQ Response Jovan Lim | 18S03O 48 2018 Year 6 GP Common Test 1 11 ‘City living is becoming undesirable.’ Do you agree? Sng Hong | 18A01C 51 12 ‘The best way to combat climate change is through education.’ Discuss. Zacchaeus Chok | 18S03O 55 13 Discuss the claim that the digital age has made it more challenging for political leaders to govern today. Seraphine Loh | 18A13A 59 14 To what extent has technology had a negative impact on the arts, such as music or photography? Leong Mun Yee Elizabeth | 18S06G 63 Editorial Team 87

KS Bull 2018 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 4 1 2017 | Y6 | GP Prelim | Paper 1 Caleb Ho | 17S03N ‘Business should have no place in politics.’ Do you agree? In t oday’s globalised world, commerce and economic prosperity are largely prioritised. It is not surprising to see that business has become a much more integral aspect of modern society, and has thus gained tremendous influence as a result, with giant international companies like Apple having a larger net worth than some small states. However, in line with the aim of many businesses to ruthlessly maximise their profits, we begin to see that many firms have turned their socio- economic influence towards meddling with p olitics, inciting great alarm due to allegations of corruption. Indeed, while I agree that the profit - maximising agendas of firms should have little role in influencing governmental policies, I disagree with the sweeping statement that business should have completely no place in politics, as the regulation and growth of businesses still remain a key aspect of any governments’ ability to accomplish its foreign and domestic agendas. Those who fear corruption and nepotism argue that the profit- maximising agendas of businesses should never influence politics, as this can lead to inefficient and exploitative policies that aim to seek self -aggrandisement at the expense of societal welfare. When businesses enter politics, either via lobbying groups or by providing support to influential politicians, they can leverage their socio-economic status to bully governments into implementing policies that work to their self -interest, either by threatening to not cooperate with governmental agendas or withdrawing their fina ncial support for political candidates and offices. For example, many businesses in the developing world pressurise their governments to lift restrictions on pollution so that they can persist in their destructive business practices, and enter an agreement with the government to support their re- election. Thus, this can lead to ineffective policies that threaten the greater societal welfare. More dangerously, the continued influence of businesses over governance can give rise to the commercialisation of pol itics, where the public -serving ideals of governmental

KS Bull 2018 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 5 organisations and politicians have been utterly corrupted by the promise of selfish financial gains. In the case of revolving door politics, where there is a frequent transfer of personnel between posi tions as regulators and legislators and the companies being regulated and legislated, the motivation for politicians to reap personal gain has led to great amounts of corruption and inefficiency. In Japan, this practice and attitude has in fact become a dangerous norm in the form of “amakudari”, where the politicians and bureaucrats receive large salaries upon retirement to the private firms and use their connections with former colleagues in the bureaucracy to implement policies for the benefit of their em ployer companies, such as reduced taxation and skipping inspections. This has been argued to be a great source of economic inefficiency as resources are overly allocated for the private gains of these firms, leading to low growth rates and poor economic reform in Japan, precisely why the dismantling of “a makudari” has become one of the key tenets of Shinzo Abe’s progressive reforms. Hence, it can be argued that business should have no place in politics, as when businesses have a substantial influence over g overnance, it can lead to the compromis e of societal welfare for their own corrupt ends. However, while the corrupting tendencies of private enterprises in manipulating politics is highly undesirable, business still has a place in politics, as it is inseparable from effective governance. In order to seek the key agenda of economic progress that is so highly regarded in our increasingly pragmatic world, governments have an incentive to work hand in hand with private enterprises. Economic achievements in t he form of greater Gross Domestic Product growth, rising wages and increased employment are an essential expectation of governments by the populace that votes them into power, as financial and material gains are the most tangible way to improve the masses’ standard of living. Thus, to accomplish this objective, it is crucial for governments to work closely with the very enterprises that generate this wealth. It is the businesses that employ people and provide them with incomes, and it is the economic activi ty generated by the businesses that enable people to pay their taxes and allow the continued operation of the government and its ability to implement policies. Therefore, it is in the interests of governments to influence the continued growth and prosperity of businesses by means of implementing policies that can encourage this growth. For example, the expansion of the rare earths industry in China into a global monopoly has

KS Bull 2018 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distributio