When The New York Times' Tom Friedman writes about domestic matters, he is a banal leftie easily ignored. When Friedman writes about the Middle East, about which he is knowledgable, pay attention.
In yesterday's column, Friedman talks about ferment among Arabs in Middle East countries that have not had an "Arab Spring" uprising. He finds the gentle winds of social change are blowing there too, particularly among the young. In non-democratic countries of the region Friedman sees various attempts to deliver "good government," responsive to customer satisfaction.
The model is like that of Singapore. There the dynastic People's Action Party, founded by Lee Kuan Yew, continues to be reelected to lead the city-state because people are satisfied with their government's role in their lives.
