Commenting on the view that the apparent divide in perceptions of personal freedoms is a cultural construct dependent on whether one comes from a collectivist society, or an individualistic one, SMU Dean of Core Curriculum and Professor of Political Science Elvin Lim said that while this broad generalisation may have some truth to it, it does not explain why some places in the West have fared better than others. “What is more precisely doing the work, I suspect, is first, the degree of trust or deference to the state apparatus. Without a modicum of either of these, no government can govern,” he said.