Filipino Political Literacy, Middle-Class Agency, and Decades of Self-Assessment

By Karl Garcia Over the past twenty years, two influential critiques of Philippine society have shaped public conversation:(1) Richard Heydarian’s 2025 observation that the Filipino middle class is “functionally literate but not politically literate,” and(2) the earlier discourse from Get Real Philippines (GRP), which framed national underperformance as rooted in cultural habits and civic attitudes. … Continue reading

The Integrated Archipelago: Forging Philippine Resilience through Infrastructure, Maritime Governance, and Blue–Green Industrial Convergence

Author: Karl Garcia Abstract This blog article presents a vision of the Philippines as a connected, sovereign, and sustainable maritime nation — achieved through the integration of infrastructure, maritime governance, and blue–green industrial development. Building upon the Philippine Nautical Highway, inter-island bridge and railway projects, EO 57 (2024) on maritime governance, and the Blue Economy … Continue reading

The Cost of Blind Liberalization: How Low Tariffs and Weak Incentives Are Killing Philippine Industries

By Karl Garcia I. Introduction The Philippine economy today stands at a crossroads between open-market liberalization and national economic resilience. For decades, the country has pursued low or zero tariffs, minimal industrial protection, and inconsistent investment incentives — policies rooted in the promise that free trade and market competition would drive prosperity. Instead, this experiment … Continue reading

How to pick JoeAm’s brain

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America The Society of Honor blog by Joe America has produced 1,880 articles, most about Philippine affairs. It has generated over 180,000 comments that provide additional depth and insights. These are all open for examination by AI tools such as Gemini or ChatGPT. What can you explore? Any political name, … Continue reading

When computers run human thinking

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America We are explorers, each and every one of us, moving forward, because there is no backward, into the era in which computers do human thinking. The flood has begun and we already are finding it hard to tell who wrote that, a human or a machine? Pictures and videos … Continue reading