Against a greater military role for Japan Lee's understanding of the nature of authority was molded during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. Then, during his post-war stay in England, an incipient political philosophy began to take shape. At the core of this philosophy were two key elements: (1) opposition to colonialism, and (2) the democratic socialism espoused by Britain's Labour Party.
如果說，日治時期促成李光耀對權力本質的理解，那麼戰後負笈英倫的經歷則塑造了李光耀政治思想的雛形，其核心就是反對殖民主義以及承襲自英國工黨的民主社會主義。