A Nation Beheaded
By Giancarlo Angulo
The primary issues hounding our country is we are a pre capitalist country. Why pre capitalist? Wealth comes from resource extraction and in state sponsored extortion.
We are what we admire and what we admire is the end state and not the process.
Why is that? I would opine that we are a decapitated nation. A nation without intellectuals.
What about all the PHDs and multi hyphenated people with lots of degrees from Harvard etc?
I have talked with a lot of these people and call some of them friends. The people who have the experience necessary for leadership are probably the people who we call oligarchs.
Intelligence is formed by our experiences. The hardships we go through unfortunately form us.
Bad bosses, awesome bosses allow us to see the differences and for a lot of people modeling is still the way to learn.
If you are the son or daughter of a big wig you can expect to experience those realities.
We see the comments section of the social media accounts of these candidates and people decide based on education the fucking weakest indicator.
This is particularly a problematic signal in the Philippines where rote memorization and its equivalent in the STEM courses.
This is how you get people with master’s or PHDs who do not know how to problem solve in the real world.
When voting vote for those who can do, not those who can take test or can regurgitate words.
Note 01: Yes this was inspired by all the candidates and the comment sections.
Note 02: Image was generated through AI by wordpress
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Thanks, Gian. Let me attempt to break it down like Edgar Lores broke stuff down.
1. A nation without intellectuals. You probably mean a lack of intellectuals that apply themselves to politics, Heydarian notwithstanding.
1a. French public intellectuals always were important political influencers from Voltaire onwards. Recent examples were the obnoxious tankie Sartre and the more human Camus.
1b. Both Germany and the USA have strong policy think tanks. In Germany, there are foundations close to political parties that help craft policy. In the USA, there are private foundations that analyze matters for public and political use. Maybe Joey can expound.
2. People with degrees who can’t get stuff done. This seems to have more to do with the government as such. But there is also a downside we recently observed or experienced.
2a. There are many examples of how theory and practice don’t match in the Philippines. Laws without IRRs, laws half-implemented (which in Germany would be called pockets of lawlessness) and stuff that looks very different on the street than on paper.
2b. You do need some applied theory for an advanced society. You can build a bahay kubo without some knowledge of physics, not a skyscraper.
2c. Mar Roxas might have been the biggest collateral damage of educated people unable to get stuff done, and the resulting prejudice against them among people who noticed that.
2d. The rule of Duterte showed that you can’t have people who know how to run a town at most, with methods of the barangay, somewhat like the paramount datus called rajas of 1571, run a country. It is like having bahay kubo builders put up a skyscraper.
2e. Duterte probably realized his incompetence level during the pandemic, much like an illiterate king in medieval Europe. His delegating stuff to IATF was just what Kings did back then, delegating stuff to literate Ministers, which comes from Latin ministrare, to serve.
3. Another proof that applied education is not totally useless is SB19 Pablo being the CEO of his new 1Z entertainment company, but leaving the COO role to Yani de Dios, the older brother of his fellow SB19 member Justin, who has actual corporate experience. (And is Chinoy)
Duterte’s rule was an experiment in running a country more complex and more modern than the archipelago of 1571 with a mindset of old plus Popeye’s school of Hard Knocks. So I guess those with degrees in the Philippines have to step up if they want less anti-intellectualism.
That’s a good point, Irineo, the think tanks that craft policies for US/German government officials who really are not organized, detailed, disciplined thinkers. I think on defense, the US does a lot of the thinking for the PH. Otherwise they are hired peacemeal, like signing up Korean nuke specialists to examine the Bataan structure for serviceability.
I am sure that specialists in the respective deep states of the USA and Germany, lifetime government employees, will know a lot of stuff and apply it regularly just like the Philippine DFA will have highly competent diplomats.
They might not see the forest for the trees though, for being over specialized. Think tanks do the important work of trying to see the big picture and looking for solutions – and hopefully checking old solutions for what didn’t work.
The US “deep state” is staffed with dedicated staff who often forgo a lucrative private career due to feeling a sense of patriotic duty. There is immense institutional knowledge contained within US departments and bureaus as generations of employees figured out what worked and what didn’t, then transferred that knowledge to the next generation of employees. We just don’t really see similar patriotic duty in Philippines departments and bureaus, outside of DFA as you noted. Some of it probably has to do with low Philippine government salaries, but I’m willing to bet that it has to do more of feeling that one won’t make a difference anyway. Whereas in the US even if the political appointee (Secretary or Director) was grossly incompetent, the built up institutional inertia would prevent the incompetent appointee from doing too much damage in the long term.
I saw this in the people that PNoy admin, and subsequent Admins had the same. Have a classmate in DBM. UP Stat and UP Law. I’ve also seen this in DOF, SEC, and DTI.
Compensation in government is not okay but when compared with what existed during FVR and the early parts of GMA it is better for the early positions because of how Salary Grades work.
basically the seeds are there we just need to keep at it and nurture these people.
If anything I constantly rail against the COA and the Judicial systems as they have a habit of making things hard for good people but are barely an impediment for bad actors.
In US government duty the salary isn’t as great as in the private sector, but it’s enough to have a comfortable middle class life. There is also a military veteran to civilian government employee pipeline. The Philippines should implement something similar as I’ve met many AFP vets who ended up as let’s say a jeep driver. That’s sad since they received training and are patriotic to begin with. Veterans should also be given education opportunities so they can continue service in the civilian government.
When my father retired from the military, he was a postal inspector (federal law enforcement). Some say the postal inspectors are even more effective than the FBI — they have a very high conviction rate in their investigations. He retired after nearly 40 years service in the USG. There are many like him across America and it’s a good program the Philippines can emulate. Usually families who have a US government employee will have the other spouse go into SMB, as my mother did since the government benefits provide a baseline.
With COA and judiciary, I agree. There’s too much red tape and bad people getting off Scott free. It seems the bad people are protected also by legions of attorneys and CPAs, while people who have minor drug offenses languish in jail. I have a friend in Cebu whose father is sitting in jail over minor drug charges, yet the suppliers (mainland Chinese and Korean) never were prosecuted.
Civil servants in the Philippines do get GSIS pensions.
I don’t get why many leave, even military people.
Well the answer is clear once one looks at the numbers. Civil servants leave because their base salary and GSIS is but a pittance (average P13.6K/mo) while military personnel leave because their MUP is very generous (average P40K/mo).
https://www.rappler.com/business/how-generous-military-personnel-pension-pushing-philippines-fiscal-collapse/
Most AFP vets I’ve met tend to serve their 20 years and get the maximum pension of around P40K, which can enable quite a decent life, though not a wealthy one. The main difference between the AFP and US Armed Forces is the focus in training both technical skills (that can be translated into civilian vocational jobs) and emphasis on developing talent through encouraging US personnel to pursue leadership through obtaining a college degree (which is paid for by the DoD while in service, and by the GI Bill out of service). So then we have generations of people like Joe who retired from service, went to college on the GI bill and entered private business as leaders.
I think the MUP as stood up by FVR is a good idea, but it needs to be paired with further education/training similar to the GI Bill. You’d be surprised how many Filipino vets simply retire around age 40-ish, take their pension and just live off that the rest of their lives. They are still young enough that they can have useful contributions to society, especially with their experience. Then again… I’ve also met countless Filipinos who “retire” around age 45 and just let their children, who may still actually be minors start working.
gerontology and retirement, some of my fave topics. in philippines, one is never too old to learn. there are retirees that go back to college and study to be come lawyer, teacher, pharmacist, etc. and use up the educational benefit perks intended for their dependents! apparently, there is nothing better than being among younger generation, learning and mingling with them, and because the oldies have hindsight of life experiences, aced some programs. others joint security firms and become security guards, still others joint private armies. few others study public administrations and become politicians.
retirees not of very good health stay home as house pets, haha. but seriously, they are quite useful to have around the house, babysit the grandkids, maybe take them to and from school while their parents are both at work, and maybe do some light housework too. and then join the daily grind of neighborhood watch, keep eye on their community and maybe report suspicious activities.
and because older retirees get depressed coz most of their dearest friends were found thru work and when work ended, they lost that social network. and they became isolated, lonely and suicidal.
Very surprised to learn from you KB that the educational benefits are limited. Here the military veteran receives education benefits which extends to his/her direct dependents.
money is tight and there was a fear that veterans will just have to forego their pension, many of them in retirement that govt’s may not be able to pension them all.
good people like leni has no problem following COA’s direction, they anticipate it and proactive sila. they knew COA wants receipts and expenditures and paper trail, and so find time to collate data and info, and have them ready for COA’s perusal. leni met COA’s gold standard as well as mayor joy belmonte of quezon city, and few others too.
sara duterte, despite having numerous undersecretaries and workers in her satellite offices that cost the govt 23 millions in rent each month, could not meet COA’s requirements and have to be plodded and pushed, and followed up, and last I heard, still non compliant.
there is a reason she concentrated on donations that are not usually subject to COA.
true, she is no longer subject to COA since she is now private citizen and no longer politician. though I think, in leni’s case, I heard the books are open for scrutiny and perusal. those who give private donations to her program know where their money went and how it was spent.
that may change though in 2025, leni is running for public office, the mayoralty in naga, and may have to submit her electoral expenses to comelec.
TY Irineo for clarifying. Yes. I got a glimpse of the media coverage of the candidates for senator and it just triggered me to write this.
I just checked, and whew, my pet peeve, Persida Acosta is NOT a candidate.
LCPL_X will jump in circles when he finds out that.. Willy Revillame is running.
Aw, man . now you’ve got that Spaghetti song in my head, Ireneo. too early in the morning. apeer tayo Spaghetti pa ba ba… fuck, I hate that guy.
In the US there are both partisan and non-partisan think tanks. The most prestigious think tanks are non-partisan and are very serious about analyzing stuff, while the partisan think tanks (most are Republican) are interested in pushing billionaire propaganda.
Most non-partisan think tanks in the US were actually spin-offs of government internal analysis groups, or founded by former government officials with decades of experience. RAND for example started off as Project RAND (Research ANd Development) of the US Army Air Forces after WWII. Project RAND’s original purpose was long term planning of future weapon systems and military aircraft. Project RAND was created due to Gen. Hap Arnold’s fear that post-WWII demobilization would create a brain drain of the built up expertise in the engineering and planning corps of the US Army Air Forces. RAND was the first organization referred to as a “think tank” as RAND recruited the demobilized scientists, engineers and technicians.
I don’t think intellectuals need to apply themselves to politics. By nature intellectuals talk to other intellectuals, so their ideas might already be removed from the reality of what’s on the ground — Heydarian does this, which annoys me sometimes though I do applaud his effort because at least he’s trying. What intellectuals can do is provide advice to the political class, who then must be wise enough to craft a plan of execution from the policy advice gathered.
One of the worse habits of Philippine intellectuals in the public sphere is crafting a policy yet not having any follow up some time later to assess the effects then re-calibrate if necessary. It’s as if they think they had a perfect plan to begin with and everyone else is doing it wrong. Of course some of this is also due to often having bad leadership along the political class.
Another criticism of mine is that there is a constant desire to reinvent the wheel, to “Filipinize” things. What a waste of time and effort. Just take the template from other successes, tweak it if necessary to fit Philippine needs and go. Instead we need massive reports and analysis, yet unclear implementation. Just take what’s been done before and apply it. For example building codes. The US has tropical storm prone regions in the Gulf and has already developed detailed playbooks on mitigation and response, from building codes to disaster relief. Why must the Philippines even make its own studies? Adapt the publicly available US studies and practices to save time and effort.
My north star for the society as I keep telling Irineo and Karl:
01. Platform where we can try to influence policy
02. Refuge for people wanting a mature Philippines
Wonderful north star.
These are excellent North Stars… let’s hope others will align.
There is a right time to Filipinize.
That is when you make it more in tune with the local conditions.
ITIL and PMI stuff is sometimes a way to measure how well the Pinoys understand the theory and the practice.
Like art you cannot go beyond what you have barely mastered.
In some ways I was taught calculus in HS by someone trained in teaching early Calculus through Filipino. Really hated it because unlike the Japanese we know English.
I agree, lots of wasted Filipinization for virtue signaling.
Personally I feel that the best way to understand how to apply theory into practice is by actually doing something, even if one fails. Often for me at least, failure is the most valuable teacher, though I do try to learn from others’ failures before my own hehe.
Access to mentors also unlocks more experience as knowledge that was gained from application can be transmitted to the next generation. There is a serious lack of mentorship in the Philippines. Well, in the US professional mentorship has fallen since Joe’s time as companies increasingly outsource critical functions that were previously taken cared of in-house. American companies are starting to realize this was a mistake and some are re-initiating OJT programs for students near graduation. In this regard the German model of professional apprenticeship is the current golden standard IMHO. With mentorship, one can learn faster by taking shortcuts that actually work when guided by a more experienced person on what works for them.
Actually you might be shocked by this, but when I was living in Japan while working for Japanese corporations, I found out that the Japanese teach higher concepts in English, especially mathematics or technical subjects. Sure their accent and tone might not be free-flowing like a native English speaker, but they do learn and teach in English in senior high school and college. So this “Filipinization” is in an even harsher light.
I see Filipinization has a relict of the revolution where there was a knee-jerk rejection of all things “foreign,” like the Aglipayan Church (apologies if anyone here is Aglipayan), just like IMHO trying to make “Filipino” the national language as a relict of revolution also. Nationalism is misguided, and many people mistake nationalism for patriotism; they are both quite different things. The constant need to reinvent the wheel is a wasted effort. The penchant for voluminous reports from high school to university reports, government investigative reports for projects, and more are symptoms. And in “reinventing the wheel,” there are also many entry points for corruption to siphon off public funds.
https://inquisitivebird.xyz/p/the-dark-ages
“There is a distinct Roman peak in the 1st century. This is followed by a decline in lead emissions, at the same time the denarius is also having its silver purity reduced. This suggests a great economic decline, with the most rapid decline coinciding with the Antonine plague, 165 to 180 AD (McConnell et al., 2018).
In summary, the economic decline can be observed by the following (approximately) simultaneous trends: (1) the debasement of the currency, (2) the drop in maritime activity, (3) and from lead pollution data, indicating less mining.”
That youtube video I shared with Joey in the other blog, reminded me of Pol Pot. But after reading Ireneo’s and gian’s blog. There wouldn’t be a need for a Pol Pot in the Philippines. at all. I’m picturing everyone just dancing to that dang Spaghetti song. What if they did a chart similar to the above, how would it look like just the Philippines.
that’s a great video, about PhD vs. PhD war over funding, gian. Physicists vs. Physicists. He also mentions a program that was discontinued in which PhD Physicists et al were funded directly by DoD. but was done away with. Mansfield amendment, around time stamp 10:30 in the video. first time i’ve heard of this, but sounds like a good idea. AFP can do this. maybe, gian. one solution. join theory and practice. thru military.
I think this is around the same time ARPA became DARPA, and only military relevant science was entertained.
Karl and Irineo have been talking about that in our GC. Drones were obviously the next step in military evolution the problem is creating an ecosystem/supply chain. This is why trying to get in the friend shoring band wagon would have been awesome and even possible.
Assembly is something we already do for I believe IMI and Texas Instruments.
Assembly and production of the less technology rich parts would be feasible.
What’s GC? drones are very versatile, like mules, as we’re seeing in North Carolina flooding etc. perfect for military, science and natural disasters. Do you know where those assembly plants are , gian? and can they be repurposed. fisheries and WPS for sure that place can be inundated with cheap drones. Remember Dorothy from the first Twister movie? strictly date.
group chat
The difference between a think tank and this blog is the lack of ability here to organize thoughts collectively around a specific topic, gather facts that support the assessment, write precisely and authoritatively, and have a readership that matters, and will pay for insights. We are an unstructured pseudo think tank that is broke. 🙂
Think tanks are usually also beholden to who pays ’em, Joe. So I’d argue we’re better than think tanks. and being broke is just cherry on top.
drones supply chain right now are mostly in China. I wonder where palmer lucky manufacturer his drones? I am guessing Tesla would eventually go try drones manufacturing if only to help in Mars colonization. I imagine drones can be used for building eventually.
https://www.anduril.com/
Lucky and Thiel are pretty anti China, Google AI says
disposable drones would be perfect for Philippines. Anduril’s too high up in the food chain, nat’l security and such. but disposable drones. is perfect. Philippines can totally source that. but focus on science and rescue (typhoons etc.)
Iran has shown us how to weaponize China civilian drones with what they sold to Russia.
It was a disappointment when Marcos Jr. didn’t take Zelenskyy’s visit more seriously. Ukraine was the manufacturing and academic region of the old Soviet Union, and they have shown their ingenuity in this war. From initially using Mavics to manufacturing large military grade quadcopter hunter-killer drones. The rapid development of Ukrainian drones is amazing. The thermite sprayer drones are particularly effective on the Russian tactic of massing soldiers (the PLA uses similar tactics). That’s not getting to Ukrainian cruise missiles which were developed during the war and are now regularly hitting targets deep inside Russia. The Taiwanese have reached out to Ukraine to learn. When will Philippines do the same?
what is there to learn! marcos jr felt no bromance for zelensky who is allegedly a competitor. ukraine got the military hardware philippines should have gotten, that’s what the president’s sister has been braying.
it is apparent, marcos jr can barely go beyond pettiness.
am’rica did offer to escort our resupply missions to the shoal, and was duly refused. so, if china continue to harass and ram our resupply boats, intimidate our sailors and traumatize them, and sometimes repulsed the resupply mission that sailors stationed at the shoal are left with nothing to eat but lugaw for days and may have to drink their own piss too, the more for marcos jr to whine about and play the long suffering leader of a country, victim of chinese atrocities. maybe that’s the badge he likes to wear and show off each time he is overseas. the accolades and attention accorded him must be addictive. parang may munchausen tuloy, e.
Imee has taken a curiously pro-PRC and pro-Russia stance, which is to sow discontent without her followers understanding context. It’s the same sounds Hungarian and Serbian government officials are bleating.
Haha, Munchausen. Maybe that’s right KB. I wonder what those sailors on the Sierra Madre must be thinking. Filipinos are now starting to understand this behavior of the PRC is no different from the behavior of the Han Empire over 2,000 years ago. They have not evolved in their relationships with neighbors.
(for backgrounder on Eric Weinstein)
I know a person who claims to be from the school of hard knocks and laughs at and borderline mocks PHDs.
Yet this guy is a PHD himself though it took a long time for him to earn his PHD
The problem is in the divide with STEM and humanities. STEM PHDs are not laughed at but are actually envied. The older you grow the harder it is to finish a STEM PHD. Engineering is applied science. Most of the advancements in engineering are trial and error based.
PHDs in business and humanities are negative signals. Lots of what people call surplus elites.
If one looks at philosophers of old, they at least tried to check their ideas in practice. Plato IIRC was an adviser to a literal Greek Tyrant in Sicily, checking out his governance ideas there. Confucius IIRC ran a town a la Lee Kuan Yew for a while – Joey might know more about that. Maccchiavelli, just like MLQ3, derived their political theories from having been insiders to the respective politics of Florence and the Philippines.
Confucius was from the minor, unlanded nobility. Despite his family’s position he studied in school with commoners (sons of merchants). Classical East Asian schooling requires a diverse set of study of many subjects. In Ancient China this was called the “Six Arts”: Rites/Rituals, Music, Archery, Chariotry and Horseriding, Calligraphy and Prose/Poetry, Mathematics. Vietnam and Korea also had similar systems that started independently.
This produced well-rounded graduates and served as the basis of the civil examination system and meritocracy over nepotism. The recognition of merit being more valuable than hereditary administrators allowed for even the lowest commoner to rise to high position. Even if one was the son of an emperor, one could not attain a position in government (general for example) unless one passed the civil examination. Confucius’ governorship of the town required him to have already passed the exam and attained the rank of guan (scholar-bureaucrat, sometimes translated as philosopher-bureaucrat) which is similar to the modern PhD. Guan were also quite similar to Ancient Greek philosophers.
In ancient China, Vietnam and Korea every single government position above village chief (towns and up) required one to pass the civil examination. Guan in Vietnamese is “quan,” in Korean it is “kwan.” Even generals and admirals were guan, and often preferred the title of “daguan” or “great scholar-bureaucrat” over their military title.
in philippines, sometimes there is seniority. rank is given to next in line who happens to be senior or one with most experience.
Which is fine, as long as those in the chain of seniority are competent hehe.
they have to be uber competent to get to that rank! think of the bullets they have to dodge, the boots they have to licked, the backs they have to stab, the ladders they have to climb, the palms they have to grease, the squealing babies they have to kiss, and yet, still have energy left to celebrate what they have achieved. truly magnificent.
Haha oh my!
All are good points.
We have PIDS and defense and security think tanks plus this thinktank led by Batongbacal mostly of UP people.
When you do MBA you are supposed to share your experiences.
The Gokongweis started immersing from the ranks before OJT as a management trainee and that goes the same for most heirs of Taipans
You get MBAs for people with less than 5 years of experience. Just check the requirements of a lot of the MBA programs locally.
I have observed that children of oligarchs need to have studied aboard to have a chance at being grounded. Where else can you take a subway because you can’t afford a cab etc.
To be honest I was allowed to enroll in MBA with just five years experience my self and that was 2001.
The Robina Gokonwei story was that she was put in the lion’s den unlike Lance I do not know the accuracy of the story though. But yeah the scions of oligarchs get to go abroad for their masters.
They need to. Everybody knows them and they do not get the fair treatment because they would one day be the bosses. At least overseas they are practically nobodies.
Korek
they knew they are good, and to test just how good, they pit themselves against what is good overseas. some failed in their undertaking, and without much talk and publicity like what normally happens here in philippines where everyone knows everybody and talk about one’s failure spreads like wildfire (very erroneous to one’s ego), over there, anonymity let them keep their failure to themselves, and try again.
it’s always good to go overseas, away from prying eyes of families and their well meaning and sometimes, unwelcome interventions. they can have semblance of being in control of their lives and make decisions for themselves, but only up to a point. hard to cut off the silver umbilical cord.
Did he drive a taxi to earn his tuition at least for two years and did he at least once get drunk with Russians, which are Nicholas Nassim Taleb’s not so serious requirements for an intellectual to be grounded? The third is being able to dead lift weights.
There were a lot of Filipino intellectuals who went DDS in from 2016-2022, probably thinking they were getting grounded. Some probably got somewhat electrocuted instead.
Let’s not even mention the degree holders of the Filipino Far Left.
This was my answer to Karl’s comment that slipped down.
The comment on the PhD who mocks PhDs.
Were you talking about your friends or acquaintances in real life?
Just sure to be just grounded by not inserting your fingers in the sockets and avoid touching live wires and cables even though they seem to be like Telco cables. Exposed copper can conduct electricity.
haha, nakuryente. maybe that is why their arms extended in fist pump.
Oh, those among my Pisay former classmates who wrote on FB that they did not see the results of PNoy were frustrated upper middle-class. Some even wrote they regretted having marched in February 1986 as things had not gone the way that they expected and somehow blamed Cory and PNoy. They are not the intellectuals that I meant, and my UP Elementary classmates who became professors themselves were often quietly pro–PNoy and pro-Leni in 2022.
Intellectuals or those who thought they were: Sassot, of course. Also that I think UP professor who thought she knew so much about Maccchiavelli. Carmen Navarro Pedrosa who is a journalist and was exiled by Marcos and saw Duterte as the end of postcolonialism.
History professor Van Ybiernas, who had regular podcasts with professor Xiao Chua. More I can’t recall, especially at the start, before the Marcos Sr. burial.
TY
Far left oh no, Joey might have something to say.
No need to do what Taleb suggested in most cases. However, none of these people bothered to talk to actual Filipinos outside of their own cohort or peer class, which is the problem. No wonder both on the dynast side and the Far Leftist side, their respective plans and goals always fall flat. It’s like trying to craft a solution without first attempting to understand the problem.
KB Has something to say about our penchant for “in need of further studies”reports.
It’s not our penchant. It is how consultancies work. Basically a money printing machine. SOP of the big consulting companies.
Glad to have you clarifying and enlightening.
Ah, my enemies the big consultancies. They give a bad name to consultants (of which I am one). Though, I’m a classic definition of a consultant who is a hired mercenary to clean up the mess the salaried management makes.
same here Joey. The easy stuff the big 3/5 consulting firms handle. the nitty gritty goes to the people who live and breathe these problems.
The hilarity is my degrees are in the humanities… I had to learn via loose guidance by seeking answers from experienced people and spending a lot of my own time reading thick manuals (this is before Google made everything easier).
Many of the big consultancy firms’ staffers are quite book smart actually. They just don’t have any applied or learned experience. They approach everything from the company manual. In effect they are no better than automatons. In fact if I broach a subject that is outside of what they have memorized, they start to short circuit, then proceed to write another 20 pages of random gibberish.
A lot of enterprises hire the big consultancies once even mid-level managers got taken over by MBA types, because it’s the “safe” thing to do. Similar to “no one ever got fired for buying IBM.” It is a behavior that derives from risk-adversion, shifting risk/blame for failure elsewhere, not having the courage to understand problems, until all these behaviors ignite a self-fulfilling prophecy. Oh, this sounds like Philippine government hehe.
I will share something from my work experiences. Engineers in the US often think they are super smart (they are in their field), yet I who do not have an engineering degree manage them. Sometimes I manage a couple dozen of them. I massage their egos a bit so they stay focused on the work. They may even think I’m stupid sometimes (been told to my face), but I’m the one who controls the budget, schedule, design and overall direction. Still, I value their individual insights and experience, so as a manager I need to synthesize their advice into how it can be applied to create success for the team.
We cannot expect everyone to be great at everything. That’s why some people are better at business, others at politics, still others at learning, or perhaps for some it’s serving the community. True there are sometimes polymaths and prodigies among us, but those are rare so we need to start with the understanding that individually we are great at a few things, good at a few things, and terrible at other things. The purpose of any organization, including the various levels of government is how to effectively leverage each person’s strengths to serve the greater goal of the organization.
So I think that Filipino intellectuals should try to be more humble in recognizing they might not have real world experiences, and leaders need to have humility to recognize that they are nothing without the team supporting them. Intellectuals can provide a wide array of advice to be considered, and it’s up to the leader to formulate a plan based on bits of advice that is applicable.
While we have talked here about how there is a current of anti-intellectualism among Filipinos, it’s equally true that degree holders are held to an almost demigod-like level. Heck there’s many students who boast their degrees… while being just a first year and far from securing their baccalaureate, and people already respect them. Some more humility all around isn’t a bad thing, which is something I learned after years of working for Japanese corporations.
One of the hallmarks of a good leader is the ability to share credit or even give away most of the credit to the team. Good leaders also need to walk among regular people to gather comments and concerns, then judge if the concern needs to be addressed and how. That’s why I was very impressed with Leni as she was the first leader in what it seemed a long time who did these things, even interacting directly with the lowest members of Philippine society to gather ideas. Those are the type of leaders that is needed, not those who bluster and insult.
Well, Filipino intellectuals already have issues cooperating with one another.
There are stories about how interdisciplinary work hardly flourishes at UP.
Seems to me that for some, bragging rights are more important than learning.
Well, it’s like the Engineering student I met before who had his pick of dates and praise by others before he actually even graduated. Or a Filipina friends once tried to reto to me years ago, who is a Civil Engineer who apparently worked for DPWH in a high position, and was more concerned about her Masters and treated me like an idiot for having only a Bachelors (she was an incompetent engineer; came from a prominent/rich SDA family). Below the very highest level of intellectuals in the Philippines, I’ve observed degree bloat which I guess connects with Giancarlo’s observation of surplus elites. It’s quite different from American engineers and engineers who immigrate to the US on H-1B visas; there is more humility and competence compared to the boasting I often see in engineers in the Philippines.
Of people I know in the younger Gen X and Millennials cohort who graduated from the Big Four, most felt discouraged to work in government because they didn’t feel that their work would be appreciated (and a low salary scale plays a role too). These are graduates who come from solid middle class or upper class families who are cosmopolitan in outlook. They could really benefit the nation if they were able to have an effect… I’ve told them that they can’t expect change unless they take part in affecting the change, but the degree of discouragement is real I suppose. Most ended up working for multinationals abroad and only occasionally visit “home.”
There is some amount of academic rivalry and infighting in the US also, but overall academics here respect each other’s work and take criticism of their work as a part of academic rigor. My exposure to Philippines academia is not that deep, but what I have seen isn’t that great. It seems that academics in the Philippines feel easily threatened and indignant even if their ideas are challenged in the slightest. If ideas are not challenged and tested, then it remains in the theoretical realm, which ultimately might be the major failing of intellectualism in the Philippines.
“Easily threatened and challenged. “.. this applies to both academics and the powerful, the present-day successors of the babaylan (male or female) or their friar successors and the datus or their principalia successors.
There is NO constructive criticism for many Filipinos. And I don’t see most Filipino leaders take criticism constructively. Even PNoy was more “taray” about criticism, quietly pissed-off, while Dutz went on the “astig” offensive.
In the barangay of old, where everything was within a small geographic range and life was simpler, I guess the experience and judgment of those chosen to lead or “speak truth” was not to be questioned. Any mistake made would mean “mahina sila humatol,” weak judgment.
That old mindset probably still dominates up to the present where things are global and far more complex than one mind can grasp even in a lifetime.
Unless, of course, it is the genius of Marcos Sr. aka Apo Lakay = Wise Elder. 😉
The difference between PNoy’s “taray” at criticism is that I felt that PNoy subsequently reflected on the criticism to see if it was warranted or not, while Duterte’s “astig” is the classic Filipino warfreak pushback. I’ve found Visayans to be very hotheaded, even more than Tagalogs hehe. I’ll take the self-reflection, even if the initial reaction was acerbic, over scorched earth warfreaking where all sense is lost.
I think you’re right. There is still a prevalence of old mindsets in the Philippines. Often it feels like it’s trying to hammer a square block (old mindset) into a round hole (modern complexity). People are used to what they learned from their predecessors, which is maybe explains the reason why Filipinos are excellent artisans. Some of the most beautiful woodwork I’ve seen was done by Bisaya carpenters in Mindanao using native hardwood (kamagong, narra); the carpenters had no formal training, having learned from their fathers and fathers’ fathers.
Yet hands on learning doesn’t translate well into “thinking outside the box” and conceptualization. One of the strongest cultural characteristics of Americans regardless of ethnicity is our ability to conceptualize things and come up with innovative solutions, which is encouraged at a young age. Minor mistakes are usually not punished, or at least are explained before being punished. Conversely in the Philippines even minor mistakes receive harsh punishment or an hours-long beratement. Like that waiter who innocently used the wrong pronouns, when the customer could’ve just kindly corrected. When there is a fear of punishment, children become timid, look for sneaky shortcuts, and come up with excuses to explain away their mistakes hoping for an escape. Then they grow up doing the same, while others grow up being imperious.
You are taught early on to hide mistakes because of the severe punishments. Lots of performative aspects of early education here also makes you a target of bullying. thus reinforcing fearing making mistakes.
Have lots of unfinished stuff. I am forcing my self to post what are essentially mind dumps because otherwise I would never post anything as the past almost 10 years show.
Accepting mistakes, learning from them, not being hindered by this fear has to be learned.
You even see this in a lot of places and interactions here. This is why the default is to do nothing. Doing nothing saves you from mistakes.
I had similar experience with Indian visa workers about 2 decades ago. Once I caught my Indian subordinates working day after day late into the evening well after everyone had gone home. When asked, they made it seem like they are putting in the “extra mile” of work. Soon problems started appearing and I realized that the Indians had broken something in Production and were frantically trying to fix it themselves, rather than asking for help, then making the situation worse with their “fixes.” It was one of the rare times I nearly lost my job. Indian culture similarly has harsh punishments for stepping out of line, blind obedience to authority even if the authority may be wrong, a fear of mistakes being exposed and the subsequent beratement by Indian managers. More than once I had to intervene and pull rank on an Indian manager to rescue an Indian resource who was simply trying his best. Well things have changed in that regard and the Indian consulting firms have become better at addressing this bad behavior through internal training.
I think mistakes can be punished, but the reason for punishment needs to be explained clearly first, and the punishment should be proportionate to the offense. Excessive coddling is also bad, like what I see in many poorer Filipino families who coddle their boys who are basically princelings.
When helping some friends occasionally with their children’s schoolwork, I was shocked years ago to find that even in G2 or G3, children are already forced to “learn” by rote memorization. Especially at a very young age children should be allowed to explore and develop a bit of independence, so they don’t need constant reassurance and cultivate critical thinking. The instilling of rigidity apparently starts very young in the Philippines and that probably needs to be changed. Some private schools teach better, usually the expensive private schools, but then those are upper middle class and up kids who grow up in a bubble… it really seems like there are “two countries” in the Philippines. One of modern trappings, the other third world.
The stuff “our” old carpenter Marcelino (a wiry man with lots of muscles and no fat at all) built for us at UP was at a par with the Balinese carpentry that has sold for premium prices in Europe since the early noughties.
Interesting, though, that the German apprenticeship you mentioned in another comment as the gold standard is also based on ancient traditions, yet manages to be open to innovation. A boiler specialist here is still called a chimney sweeper and learns to sweep old chimneys, but also knows how to check and maintain the gold standard German heating boilers like Vaillant. Carpenters will learn the old ways but also use CNC. German innovation might be slower than American innovation, though. Excellent in stuff that requires accuracy like Zeiss lenses.
I have experienced the Bavarian mentality as sometimes harsh and direct (within Germany, there was the cliche of old that Bavarian masters sometimes walloped their apprentices) but it does give recognition once they see that you are someone serious about your work. That did breed a modern state with key industries, from being a mainly agricultural state around 1900, seen as innately backward by the more industrialized Northern German states. And of course, as hopelessly Catholic in times when the Protestant ethic was seen as the gold standard..
Some of the difference between German and American innovation is that the Germans tend to repeatedly make something until they become master artisans in a sense, while American innovation is a byproduct of frontier necessities and favors rapid iteration. Sometimes German products can be a work of art, like my old BMW M5 where the motor worked in an almost sing-song fashion. I greatly enjoyed driving that car with music off, listening to the cylinders working while hearing the way the tires gripped the road. On the other hand American cars are utilitarian, as made famous by the Ford Model T back in the day. There is a time and place for both to be appreciated. Well I drive Japanese cars mostly. An appliance on wheels as they say.
Hah, upon my first visit to Germany, a German friend who received me at the airport made an immediate suggestion that I should be direct in my dealing with Germans because they may see American politeness as something to disdain. It turned out to be largely true, though by now I think Germans after nearly 30 years of Schengen have also learned how to interact with other European cultures, and vice versa.
Back to connecting with the Philippines, not sure when OJT programs started, but it seems to me that businesses mostly use students on OJT as free labor (some even need to pay for their placement). It doesn’t seem to me that many businesses hired the student after their OJT was completed, preferring to move onto the next batch of students. When I asked about OJT experiences, most seemed to be menial work around the office, such as data entry or collating files, sometimes even janitorial work unrelated to the OJT. Sure I can say that American companies starting in the early 2000s behaved similarly compared to the previous 1940 and on internships where actual training was provided, but it didn’t seem as bad as it is in the Philippines. American companies are changing also, realizing that they can’t outsource everything to consultatancies and the need to develop in-house talent.
The thing about my examples is that societies thought incapable of industrialization or innovation have done it – while the Philippines has consistently shown itself incapable of getting off the ground. On the surface, Metro Manila’s shinier parts look way more modern (or should I say „mowdern“ in a 1970s tito accent?) than Munich with taller buildings (well at least there are less Filipinos now who say everything in Europe is old) and larger malls. The daughters of Filipino journalist Cito Beltran are correct in noticing the by now bad service and punctuality of German trains. And yes, buying in small stores is so uncool compared to going to the mall. Walking on sidewalks is so old school as well. Probably the right way to do things is to take a Grab always and compensate for lack of movement by going to a BGC gym. See article below:
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2023/09/18/2297013/grass-greener-not
But well, maybe those kinds of comments show exactly the problem in the mindset of the better off classes in the Philippines who place their convenience above everything else.
Yes, it goes back to our earlier thread about people being able to collectively choose change and evolve — sometimes I liken the Filipino attraction to sending OFWs to the Middle East as a certain unspoken affinity; if one thinks about it the cultures are remarkably similar. Arab oil sheikhs extract oil, the Filipino state extracts human labor. Both have built shining cities for the leaders, while the masses get bread and circus. The Philippines is just a more poor version in the comparison.
It would take leaders big and small to start envisioning a better future and the people to start giving buy-in. Usually societal shocks are the best opportunities since in the turmoil society can be reshaped. By my reckoning the best opportunities were the American direct governance, the early Third Republic, and the early Fifth Republic following EDSA. Sadly each time the opportunity seems to have been wasted as the change was only partial, or even regressed in the next period. It might take a long time… 😕
Well, as this is, according to Joe, a broke think tank, we can just hope that some people pick up the threads of ideas we have developed here, and nudge the nation in the right direction. Or that a future leader derives ideas from here. Possibly, we might even have crazy cult leaders turning fragments of printouts of TSOH into a Neo-Scripture of sorts, decades from now. Karl, in the role of Thomas, the doubter. Gian as Simon Peter. LCPL_X as Judas, of course. Edgar Lores as the Dalai Lores. JPilipinas as the 5th avatar of Gabriela Silang. The core of believers who memorize the Books of Edgar, Karl, Gian, Will, and Joe without understanding shall be Pinoy OSWs or Outer Space Workers. The books of LCPL_X and Irineo shall be deemed to be Satanic Verses. Those who insist on seeing UFOs shall be deemed followers of Judas/LCPL_X.
Well here’s to hoping. Lately I’ve been saying on Twitter that the global supply chain realignment is going to be rapid and the Philippines has a chance to hop on the bandwagon of investment. The optimist in me is hopeful, but to be honest the ground work should’ve been immediately done by Marcos Jr. during his many foreign trips. Slowly losing hope on that though as moved factories are starting to come online this year. Hoping that Millennials and younger Gen X will get their act together in 2028.
Hahaha! Beautiful, just beautiful!
This was true before BPOs as interns were treated as free labor.
BPOs smartly treated this as a way to get hooks early on promising interns.
Currently my recent experiences with interns point to the fact that it is a standard question now by interns with established programs what percentage of interns do you hire after internship.
As some schools have almost a whole year of internship.
This is actually perfect for both sides. You get subsidized training and evaluation time. The intern gets actual job experience and a preview of company culture.
The only OJT in the Philippines I’m familiar with is where local companies use students as free labor then don’t hire them. I’m not super familiar with the more established programs since I distanced myself a bit from Manila-based academia due to some early disappointments. I presume these programs are targeting recruitment among students in top schools for the national level corporations?
The thing is we know our problem, but knowing is never enough
https://opinion.inquirer.net/166390/cultivating-critical-thinking-to-transform-the-ph
More on critical thinking.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320551159_Critical_thinking_in_philippine_education_What_we_have_and_what_we_need
Throwback time.
Man I used to write like Joey! 😂🤣😂
Oh, man. that was 9 years ago! I miss MRP.
Yes, what a mind-bending character.
LOL!
“This Filipino mentality also is common in restaurants. Filipinos do not wnt to ask how big how large is the serving because they do not want the waits to know that it is their first time in the restaurants. They wanted to appear they are regular and knows the servings and menus. WHY ARE YOU FILIPINOS LIKE THAT?”
I can’t stop laughing man. whooooooo…lol. thanks , karl. Joe, I’m watching all this hearings stuff, eg. OVP budget, Alice guo, DU30, etc., cuz I wanna connect it to my upcoming blog (OCT. 17, right?). and MRP’s NO EVIDENCE NECESSARY commentary above is so spot on. but this restaurant stuff. is gold. relevant too to gian’s blog.
Priceless.
🤣😅😆😂
This as well:
Wow, thanks, Irineo. Two of my better pieces, for sure. And those closing lines, Zap! Pow! My writing did taper off after the 2022 article. Not much left to say and I ran into a bit of a health issue. Now my ambition is not so much to understand what’s going on, although it does warrant continued study – time is passing after all – but to figure out how to win in 2028.
yay, 2028! and already old man duterte is sucking up to manalo, head of iglesia ni kristo, since his fave pastor quiboloy is out of the loop.
the lead up to 2028 is getting exciting, the dutertes are already being challenged in dabaw with nograles putting his hat in for mayoralty. others too are challenging the dutertes hold in dabaw with the vice mayorship also up for grab. sara is quiet though, hope she has not burst a blood vessel now that she cannot find a sherif to punch!
Fun times.
“sara is quiet though, hope she has not burst a blood vessel now that she cannot find a sherif to punch!” I don’t know if you’re watching Agatha All Along, kb. but I feel theres a coven forming and magic a brewing.
Not necessarily. There is no visible violent persecution of the intelligentsia, although the far left have been marginalized and demonized for decades. Instead our education system is still mired in 1950.
However, powerful politicians have finally known that to have control over the populace and ensure perpetual power, they must influence the well-to-do and they must keep the lower classes blinded.
Hence and having perverted the existing system of justice to their benefit, they go to great lengths to exploit class conflict through social media wherein the idea that intelligence belongs only to the wealthy, and make the lower classes believe intellectuals (i.e. Mar Roxas) are “useless do-gooders”, convince that only supposed “men of action” (i.e. Tulfo, Duterte, Bato, etc.) would guarantee them justice and prosperity on a silver plate.
That politicians rarely ever try addressing sore issues in public education and promoting intellectuals as worthy servants and consciences of the nation, preferring “prestige” issues to dig in and to get them more visibility in the press and therein the next elections. With little or no government support and politicians snidely driving them out from ever enlightening Filipinos, you guessed it, our best intellectuals end up packing their bags for better pay elsewhere, like Wesley Go now a Chinese-American.
Of course, let’s not forget that politicians do throw in some bread and circuses to keep the people distracted.
Bread and circuses.. this video is spaghetti breakfast for LCPL_X:
Seriously, intellectuals started making themselves irrelevant by calling each other too elitist, too Westernized, not Filipino enough.
There were even MORE UP intellectuals behind Erap than behind Duterte, who did manage to put the elitist label on UP, Ateneo, and La Salle.
During Erap’s time, there were those who tagged Cory and yellow as a product of an Atenean, Makati, and Jesuit conspiracy of sorts.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leloy_Claudio
Recently, professor Leloy Claudio, who was popular in PNoy’s time with his Basagan ng Trip podcast, was mobbed out of both Ateneo and La Salle, don’t know where it was left-wing and where it was nationalistic colleagues. He is now at Berkeley.
How especially at UP colleagues ratted on each other during the times of Marcos Sr. to get ahead of colleagues detained and interrupted in their careers is a dark chapter for itself.
This is a link describing a book Prof. Claudio wrote:
https://pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-reviews/liberalism-and-the-postcolony-thinking-the-state-in-20th-century-philippines-by-lisandro-e-claudio/
What is interesting is that the Filipino liberal thinkers he describes are from the 1920s to the 1970s – so did liberalism die among Filipino thinkers after that?
https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/232058-opinion-who-afraid-petit-liberal-leloy-claudio/
The above article mentions how the Philippine Far Left – with nearly 200 signatures including those of some Fil-Am intellectuals – tried to petition against Claudio’s Berkeley appointment..
Ireneo, I am not clicking on that video! LOL. it was inside my head the whole day yesterday.
Joey, I know you talked about that Fil-Am professor of yours at UC Berkeley who pretended to be American Indian. Did you come across Filipinos (from Philippines) professors at Berkeley, or is this a new trend. I remember Ireneo sharing another professor at UW Seattle, who was that Ireneo? I wonder how many (of the humanities variety) get to be professors here. like plucked from Philippines. I know theres already a lot in the hard sciences, in the Mid West etc. especially fields like agriculture and soil science etc. mostly just research not really teaching.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_L._Rafael is the one in Seattle who used to be at Ateneo.
He wrote a lot about Philippine popular culture up to around the early 2000s and then lost touch somewhat as he wasn’t there anymore. The book below was his most recent publication:
That’s the one, thanks! Death and Laughter… good subtitle.
Ah no. My old Filipino-American professor at Berkeley was born and raised in the US. Cultural confusion was a trait of Fil-Ams back then, even now too I guess. If you remember back into your own younger days, you might recognize some from what you saw.
If I may hazard a guess yes. Communism was too strong
important lesson from the gutter: never underestimate ‘politicians that throw bread and circuses to keep the people distracted’ for that what keeps them elected time and again. this is a very important lesson to learn, very simple, too simple in fact, that it’s often discarded and ridiculed even.
it may be distraction to some, but an absolute ‘not’ to the multitude others who get to decide on polling day who gets to the finish line.
they dont see it as distraction but a much needed breather, a merciful time out, a time to eat and rest, be happy and entertained, so they can start anew, fresh and invigorated. the way to people’s heart is through their stomach. people think better on full stomach and are mostly grateful to those that see to their needs, no matter how shallow it looks, how benign, how how the carabaw!
man does not live by bread alone, yeah right. tell that to the hungry and they’ll get back in more ways than one to those that looked on while they were hungry.
the lord said to peter: peter, do you love me?
yes, my lord.
feed my sheep.
😂🤣😂 +10
Let them serve…..in volleyball or tennis perhaps
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/600372/dj-durano-on-celebrities-running-for-office-they-want-to-serve
they have to be elected to serve, but if they really want to serve, they dont need a public office.
in the meantime, dj durano will be running against his own sister who is up for reelection as mayor of sogod. either way, win or lose, the mayoralty of sogod will be keep within the durano family. like a family enterprise.
the issue is always we want the people who are best with funds we all contribute to to handle it
Is there a Filipino Intelligentsia?
https://opinion.inquirer.net/61981/is-there-a-filipino-intelligentsia
mayhap, the intelligentsia have taken over pogos and running them now that the chinese are being rounded up and deported. the intelligentsia turned pogo workers already know the terrain, have transportable skills and connection. they are suave and can be very persuasive too and scammed many.
heard some foreigners at the airport talking about how highly educated filipinos are! that they have relocated the administration side of their business here, labor here is cheap and affordable, the cost of living too.
Liberalism and Nationalism: The Role of the Filipino Intelligentsia
https://www.journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/kasarinlan/article/view/638
Remember this?
public intellectuals
https://opinion.inquirer.net/80797/public-intellectuals-in-default
Good question:
that was a good read. before I found TSOH. I gotta look up what Cua and Co are up to these days. Co especially. thanks!
Excellent self reflection from a former 100 percenter. Voting matters in the US, and voting matters in the Philippines. The Far left withhold their votes from a position of socioeconomic safety. They are the elites they rail against.
https://x.com/madisonkittay/status/1846397701904117781
They are, aren’t they. They are dynasts of another persuasion located in the fields and streets, railing at those who have a different view and unable to get off the 100% mark. I nudge Teddy Casiño relentlessly on twitter and he still follows me, nudging back occasionally. I think he has a flexible thought process but is constrained by the inertia of the hard Left’s deep state. Still, it is in their best interest to temper their ways, thus my article on Makabayan which is in the rack for Oct 28. I’m 95% certain he’ll read it. That’s to my point that it doesn’t actually matter how big our readership is, it’s who is in that readership.
You call it inertia but inertia assumes residual forward movement from prior movement. I call it ideological inflexibility constrained by moral purity. I encountered that as a youth in right wing politics, then encountered it again when I shifted left and explored far left spaces. Both extremes demand moral purity with the unthinking zeal of converts like hard line religious cults do, which is why most people who exist between Left and center-right are turned off. I think the bulk of the possible persuasion happens by shifting the Overton Window of what defines the neutral center, not by pulling people back from the fringes. There are simply more voters closer to the middle. I hope Teddy Casiño comes to understand that.
I hope so too, and your definition is excellent. Moral purity. Love it.
The main reason why I’m a bit dismissive of Teddy Casiño is that he’s been stuck on the fringe for years and is still trying to move fringe votes. He’s a very eloquent and effective speaker, for his crowd. I find him and AOC to be quite similar. AOC has figured out that she can have more effect moderating her speeches. Moderating speech doesn’t necessarily require moderating the actions, which remain progressive in goal. But moderating speech can work to move the Overton Window quite effectively as it removes the main impediment for people to listen; that impediment being hyperbolic language that regular folks are immediately turned off to, even if they may support the ideas in principle. Move the solid mass in the center, not pull in the edges that may “easily tear.”
change happens slow and we have to wait for the people to be ready for the change. fast changes only happens in a crisis modem. Always wondered why HS graduates that cannot read is not triggering a crisis mode. We are just too chill.
So you noticed that too? I witnessed a remarkable decline in graduating SHS students over the last 20+ years. Many have no idea how to write a proper report, having copy-pasting stuff from Google (and now they are using ChatGPT). Still others are essentially illiterate in English, their mother tongue/Tagalog. This is showing in the quality of BPO agents, which is causing the corporate customers of BPOs to start shifting operations to Caribbean countries or South Africa.
Or maybe we are just starting to become grumpy old men as our elder Millennial cohort ages.
Time ticks on for all men, and women, too. We learn, and grow, and think, and do. Those around us are ticking, too. It’s not static. So there is always hope.
Checked out the discussion in this article again:
This is an excerpt of a comment by Andrew Lim:
“I once came upon an article by Leloy Claudio in Rogue magazine where he argues that the Filipino public intellectual has largely disappeared.
Before, the ilustrado led the charge, being free from the drudgery of making ends meet. Claudio argues that today’s economic elite have become pedestrian in their intellectual pursuits, and I would agree with him. Rather than pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, they are content building malls and condos, backing politicos, etc. Not that there’s no added value to these, but it is far too little compared to what other cultures can produce. Yes they collect art, but do they produce art?
My wife and I have this hobby of spending time in traffic discussing things like these sometimes, and one theory we went back and forth on was the climate – where it can be argued that the availability of produce whole year round, the relatively easy way of managing your life in a tropical country does not push one to think and create to the edges of one’s limits, compared to those living in harsh cold climes, where one is forced to plan, prepare and understand the universe more intensely..”
“The books of LCPL_X and Irineo shall be deemed to be Satanic Verses. Those who insist on seeing UFOs shall be deemed followers of Judas/LCPL_X.” I had forgotten about all those jameboy discussions, and I’d not known jameboy was Juan Luna. so now again excited for the possibilites. lol. but that changing seasons and planning seems like a good theory. but with all the typhoons, earthquakes, even volcanoes, one would think that’d do it too. As to UFOs, I think if VP Sara and VP Leni can make amends, then I should be able to do the same with WowoWillie, Ireneo, so reading that he’s not even considered a platform to run on for the Senate race, I offer the UFO policy proposal to WowoWillie to run on. it’ll be a big tent. New thinkers needed. the more the merrier. lol. I’m imagining aliens dancing to that Spaghetti song as well as the Bulaklak song. we’ll need WowoWillie for this.
I think we’ll all agree that josephivo is right here (this was June 2015, May 2015 was my ACLU blog which begot all that ire targeted to jameboy, lol. but I’m friends with Juan Luna now.)…
and in principle, Joe’s correct: “I’m pro-exploration of degrowth as a practical path, and not for an abrupt change. I don’t have enough data.”
and this is the nutshell of De-Growth,
So the end game is steady state economy. De-growth being just the course correction.
Let us see if the remaining 3 years or 2( minus election campaign) of Angsra can make a dent in DEPED.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/10/16/2392967/private-sector-must-help-solve-education-crisis-deped-says
I saw a good argument against wealth tax in the comment threads: The higher tax that the wealthy pay the more WE pay. Makes sense, the consumers will pay more. The tax payers will pay more VAT, lesss take home pay etc. Same with Nationalism of education as compared ton privatization. I am not maligning the left near or far, but I will opine if it is a good idea or not and it is not. Education has the highest budget but it is never enough. All budget is spent on human capital. (most of it). Nationalization will only double or raise our debts exponentially. More taxes, do we like that?
True that Maynilad and Manila water sucked for the longest time but what if it is entirely up to the government, we would have sucked bigger time. Nationalization, my foot!
And mIcha wants to replace Gordon Gekko’s greed is good with debt is good.
Debt is good, but we need cash.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/10/14/2392244/theyre-wasting-our-borrowed-money
Boo Chanco is the best. He’s my brother, I think. Debt is fine when it’s not funding thieves.
all evidence of a wealth tax in practice just shows it drives high wealth individuals to lower tax regimes.
Mababa na nga ang income tax dahil nasa equities lahat ng pera tapos babagsak ang stock index. Ayos.
The crisis is deep and it is emergency levels when people graduating from highschool cannot read.
We must face this without dismissing as fake news