新加坡被称作20世纪最成功的致富传奇。
"I don't think any other economy," says Linda Lim, an economist at the University of Michigan, "even the other Asian tigers, have that a good a statistical record of rapid growth, full employment, with very good social indicators — life expectancy, education, housing, etc. — in the first 20 years," she says.
我不能想到别家的经济，”美国密歇根大学的经济学家琳达·林说道，“甚至是其他的亚洲四小龙，在第一个20年里，有这么快的数据增长、完善的就业和十分齐全了的社会指标——寿命、教育、住房等等。”
Lee Kuan Yew, the man who founded modern-day Singapore and died last week at age 91, led that economic transformation. One of the most influential leaders of the 20th century, Lee was an autocrat whose tiny island-state became one of the richest places in the world, and a role model for other governments in Asia and beyond.
李光耀——成就了如今的新加坡的男人，于上周逝世，享年91岁，是他成就了新加坡的经济转型。作为20世纪最有影响力的领导人之一，李光耀让这一小块土地成为了世界上最富有的地方之一，并为亚洲和其他国家的政府树立了榜样。
Singapore has little land and no natural resources. But after its independence in 1965, the former British colony was transformed into a major manufacturing and financial center.
新加坡土地面积少，没有自然资源。但是自1965年独立以来，这块前英国殖民地向制造业和金融中心转变。
Conservatives see Singapore as a free-market success story. Low taxes, few capital restrictions and liberal immigration policies have made it one of the most cosmopolitan places on Earth.
保守党将新加坡视作一个自由市场的成功案例。低水平税收、资本管制和自由的移民政策，让其成为世界上最为四海一家的地方。
"They have very, very free trade, very low tariffs [and] very few non-tariff barriers," says Josh Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations.
“他们有着极其、极其自由的贸易，很低的关税，而且基本没什么关税壁垒，” 外交关系委员会的乔什·科兰滋克说道。
But like Deng Xiaoping's China, which emulated many of Singapore policies, Lee's government played a big role in the economy.
但是正如同邓小平发展的新中国——模仿了很多新加坡的政策，李光耀政府在经济发展中也扮演了至关重要的角色。
"Some of the biggest sectors domestically — shipbuilding, electronics, banking, and now they're very involved in private banking — got their start because Lee Kuan Yew and the government specially directed state funds into those areas," Kurlantzick says.
“一些大型产业均为国有——制船业、电子、银行，而如今他们也渗入了私人银行——这么做是因为李光耀极其政府特别规划国家基金进入这些领域，” 科兰滋克说道。
The government also provided social services like housing and health care, in a way liberal economists applauded.
政府还提供社会福利，比如住房和社保，在某种程度上自由主义经济学家夸夸不绝。
Singapore today is a mature economy that, like Japan, has seen its growth slow. Kurlantzick says it struggles with a problem familiar to the West.
如今的新加坡是一个成熟的经济体系，如同日本，其经济增长已经减慢。科兰滋克称，它和其他西方国家一样陷入相同的问题。
"People live well, but the per capita GDP conceals a high level of inequality, so that is definitely a major issue in Singapore today and one of the things that the current prime minister has focused on," he says.
“人们安居乐业，但是人均GDP隐藏了高度不等平的问题，所以这必然是如今新加坡的主要问题，而且也是当今的新加坡总理面对的问题之一。”他说。
But Singapore remains a big financial center with a high standard of living, and Lee Kuan Yew is remembered as the man who made its prosperity possible.
但是新加坡仍然是生活水平极高的金融中心，而李光耀则被铭记——是这一繁荣的最大功臣。
