The failure of the elite

As I read current newspaper headlines and listen to the news – foreign and domestic – one startling feeling I have is that history is back with a vengeance. What are we reading about these days? There are those who believe that a constitutional change is a pathway to another dictatorship. There are separatist rebels in Mindanao and a Communist insurgency that seems to be growing again. Economic managers are struggling with a depreciating peso. Then there is the issue of rice – the issue of food security vs. cheaper rice through importation. 

Two generations after we regained our independence; and, one generation after People Power which inspired the world, the issues confronting the Filipino people are the same. 

In 1992, Francis Fukuyama wrote a book The End of History. He defined history as the age old struggle between repression and freedom, exemplified by liberal democracy, free markets and human rights. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, both the ideal and reality of freedom had triumphed. According to him, the struggle for humanity was completed.

Eric Schnurer recently wrote an article “History is Back: The forces of authoritarianism, state backed economic extraction, and violent intolerance are riding high, both across the globe. The rising right wing populism and authoritarian politics worldwide have engendered a continuing debate over whether these are driven by racism and other cultural concerns or by economic...”

In a recent television interview, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked what she thought of President Trump. She replied that she would rather not talk about Trump but discuss the macro-environmental forces that resulted in the election and continued popularity of a Donald Trump. Her message was that populist leaders did not cause the rise of populism and the erosion of democracy throughout the world; but, the changes in the world’s macro-environment caused the rise of populism. Unless the present economic and political environments are changed, the fall of any populist leader will only result in the rise of another populist leader.

There have been many theories on the causes for the rise in populism. Globalization and technology have led to losses of jobs. Schnurer wrote: “Economic inequality between countries has been decreasing. But economic inequality within countries – virtually everywhere – has increased.” According to him, the global financial meltdown or the “Great Recession” a decade ago - led to the shattering of the world order. He wrote: “Despite growing inequities, the post-Cold War still supposed a meritocratic social contract under which those at the top at least cared about and acted in the interests of those below. The Great Recession destroyed what faith remained in that social contract: the elites – political, social, and economic – not only in their own venal interest (both in bringing about the crisis and in bailing themselves out at everyone else’s expense), but they also demonstrated that, when it came to running the world, they didn’t care what they were doing... Not surprisingly, those on the outer fringes of these developments have viewed as running counter to their interests; they see those people benefiting from these developments (the elites) and their institutions – political, economic, cultural- decreasingly responsive to their needs. Democratic participation has been falling everywhere for some time, along with faith in government, the media, educational institutions, science and even the idea of truth itself...Authoritarian leaders and parties, riding the wave of working class anger have seized power and entered government all over the world.”

The history of the Philippines is really a history of the Philippine elite. In his book The Modern Principalia: The Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Oligarchy, the author Dante Simbulan wrote: “The Philippine elite has a long history that is marked by a remarkable continuity. The ruling class, together with the members of the nobility (the maharlikas) composed the ruling class in pre-Spanish Philippines. With the conquest of the Philippines by Spain, the absolute dominance of the datus came to an end, but they did not lose their leading roles in so far as their relations with the people were concerned.” The Spaniards tried to win over the native rulers. Their former positions as chiefs of the barangays were recognized. The Spaniards now called them cabezas de barangays.

Simbulan writes: “They were commissioned as tribute collectors and were allowed to enrich themselves at the expense of their countrymen and they became willing agents of Spanish rule. The Spaniards called the members of this distinct group who collaborated with them the principales indigenes or the principalia class – the principal citizens of the community...Soon the mestizo element (both Chinese and Spanish) began to appear within the ranks of the principalia. The American basically continued this practice of ruling through the elite classes.

The elite are very well organized. On the other hand ”...non elite organizations especially those coming from the masses ( which if organized could act as a constraining influence on elite abuses and excesses) are largely ineffective. The unorganized poor – the mahirap and the mahina – conditioned by elite system, approach the powerful and the wealthy – the malakas and the mayaman – only to ask for favors, help and charity, never to demand services as taxpayers from government.”

The basic structure of the Philippines has not changed since the Philippine Revolution. There were three basic forces. The first was the intelligencia as exemplified by the members of the Propaganda Movement led by Jose Rizal and Marcelo del Pilar. Then there was the Metro Manila or national elite with personalities like Pedro Paterno and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera; and, the provincial elite with people like Aguinaldo of Cavite and Malvar of Batangas.

It has been said that Filipinos vote for a family not for an ideology. The present debate on Charter change is beginning to sound, once again, like a battle between the different elite factions.

Creative writing classes for kids and teens

Young Writers’ Hangout on July 21, August 4 and 18 (1:30 pm-3 pm; stand-alone sessions) at Fully Booked BGC. For details and registration contact 0945-2273216 or [email protected].

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