A lot of Filipinos enjoy the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. But the strangest thing: They fail to understand why political dynasties exist in their own country. The fact that people can relate to the characters, stories, and conflicts in GoT is because the plot appeals to the deepest recesses of human nature and culture. Dynasties are as natural a social construct as eating and sleeping.
It’s hardly surprising that Filipinos are, on one hand, all indignant about the stubborn persistence of political dynasties while, on the other hand, themselves beholden to the family institution. Dynasties are natural wealth management systems just like any modern business enterprise. They are organised to ensure capital is held in a persistent and profitable structure and that the means to achieve and sustain that state of affairs are maintained.
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So political dynasties, as social entities, essentially work towards two goals: (1) hold wealth within the control of its members and (2) secure that control.
Why do Filipinos need dynasties? Simple. Because the majority of Filipinos fail at managing wealth.
Look no further than capital entrusted to the management of public institutions. The Philippines’ public transport systems, infrastructure, and service agencies are all decrepit embarrassments. The way the jewel of Metro Manila’s public transport system — its rail-based elevated commuter trains — degenerated so rapidly over just a single presidential term highlights just how inept Filipinos and their servants in government are at keeping stuff neat, shiny, and running like clockwork. In the hands of Filipino officials, the Philippines’ most cherished holiday spots have become cesspools of human refuse within just two to three decades.
Even an effort to seize property from traditional hacienderos (colonial land owners) and redistribute these to farmers has been a failure. Left to their devices, ordinary Filipinos “managing” their doled-out assets spend their days drinking beer at the corner store.
Perhaps, then, Filipinos deserve to be stolen from by their own leaders — because the alleged “thieves” in the Philippine oligarchy have better, more profitable ideas that could be applied to these assets. While most Filipinos lie under the proverbial guava tree with mouths agape, enterprising oligarchs invest in ladders.
Family-controlled companies remain the backbone of the capital base of the Philippine economy. Indeed, they probably play a greater role in keeping wealth within the Philippines’ borders than multinational companies. Compare this to capital injected into the economy by the “foreign investors” that “progressive” Filipinos salivate over. Filipino workers toiling away in foreign-owned factories get paid a pittance for their trouble making products that will eventually be sold back to them for hundreds of times the value of their input into their manufacture.
A truly free market cannot force foreign business to re-invest their earnings in the Philippines. They will only do that if the Philippines is seen to be a viable re-investment site that meets their numbers. If not, these foreign companies will simply repatriate all of their profits back to their head offices in North America, Western Europe, and Northeast Asia. The reality is, the Philippines is not worth higher-level long-term investment. At best, many foreign businesses looking at the Philippines invest in what amounts to just a cash tube to dip into the Philippines’ massive (but low per-capita value) consumer market to siphon as much OFW remittances into their pockets as they could.
In that previous Juan Tamad example, they build the ladder to get the guava then take the fruit and the ladder with them back home. When they come back the next season, Juan is still there lying under the same tree with his mouth open, still waiting.
Philippine dynasties, on the other hand, are emotionally-invested in the Philippines. They are Filipinos’ only shot at developing an economy propped up by home-grown, indigenously-created capital. Their salvation does not lie in spreading their legs to invite in foreign capitalists and opening the floodgates to allow a deluge of cheap imported Chinese trinkets. Thanks to the fatal victim mentality deeply-entrenched in their psyches, Filipinos think they are entitled to a big chunk of the profits these dynasties rake in. Unfortunately, people who can’t and won’t build ladders aren’t entitled to anything.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
No one is born poor, but we are all born as ordinary humans; it is the poor mindset that makes poor choices that qualifies one as poor in spirit and in the mundane.
Family political dynasties rule the Philippines, because we elect them. We, the Filipinos, are their sources of power. We give them power. They treat us as slaves and like dirt…and we love to be treated that way. It is some kind of Sado Masochistic mentality.
They put us in a “survival mode”…by not creating good jobs in the country. So, we get out; go to foreign countries, to earn small pay…and be treated as slaves and dirt. More of the same.
We remit our earnings; these political oligarchs, use the part our money to invest for themselves, to make themselves richer and richer.
Have you not noticed, these Oligarchs, who control our economy , are our political leaders? Or their families are in politics?
And that’s why bobotantes exist. Because the powers that be put them in perpetual “survivor mode”. As long as the basic needs of the common people are not secured, they can’t divert their minds to other things like politics.
This is what the oligarchs wanted; for the people to remain ignorant by having them struggle to eat 3 times a day for the rest of their lives, thus remain oblivious to other things.
The million-dollar question is: how do we stop this madness?
😉
@Presidente Emilio:
Modern day slavery; 21st Century slaves: Filipino OFW workers and Filipino voters.
There are no kidnapping of people; no slave ships; modern day slave traders (worker recruiting agencies); modern day slave owners: OFW employers…
I read somewhere that during the 1950s-60s, the Filipino elite decided to appease the landless poor by industrialization. The poor would work in the factories, instead of receiving distributed hacienda lands. It was partially beneficial because we were industrializing, but the poor receive meager wages, and all the haciendas were really needed to be distributed. The industrialization slowed a little by the mid-60s when import controls were revoked. The situation got worse, with stiff competition, plummeting wages and strikes, that the industries demanded the restrictions to be reinstated. Then martial law came in and the factories were nationalized. Even Marcos was leery of foreigners; the economy was still restricted in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, Marcos decided to give in to the demands of the IMF to open the economy. It was pretty much all downhill ever since. Today the elite have changed strategy, they prefer building condos, malls or infrastructure projects, which like the factories, are big money-makers.
Who was that politician or personality who said the people themselves are the ones who want the dynasties to stay? She was right you know.
No one deserves to be a slave or a serf ! Get an education, get a job and fight to keep it. That shit is for the birds, get lucky at being a revolutionary. Like Mao, Washington, or whoever ,whenever. The USA revolted against the King Of Great Britain and iF the Colonies had lost? there would have been hell to pay.
Know the risks, weigh your chances, take your shot……History favors the bold. Those who do not bother to knock on the door of opportunity, but boldly open it and pass through the entrance.
What the Philippines truly needs is a national bourgeoisie that would develop local manufacturing industries. The elite families here are land owning classes or real estate developers. They aren’t invested in productive enterprises that would increases local capital and produced goods.
These landed elites hinder growth by monopolizing lands – they have little incentive to increase productivity. They also control 70% of the legislative.
what you are suggesting is socialism. sino ba ang may guts na gumawa niyan sa atin? lahat greedy.
capitalism/consumerism kasi tayo ngayon which is not working dahil may mga mahihirap. hence, socialism needs to be applied. or ung platform ni mayor duterte na “no tax kapag 25k below ang sweldo”. this will empower people with low wages to further budget their everyday expenses lalo na ung may pamilya. sobrang laki ng tulong niyan.
“what you are suggesting is socialism”
What YOU are suggesting is an idiotic social engineering experiment that was disproven in the last century. Socialism/Communism did not improve production. It did, however, create an entirely new class of corrupt ruling class whose favourite pastime was abusing the most vulnerable members of society.
“sobrang laki ng tulong niyan.”
Please quit being dishonest. If your objective is to finagle a financial dole out from the government, come out and say it.
By the way, you should ask the families of the 100 million who died on the altar of the Socialist/Communist ideology how helpful their party overlords were when famine and food shortages were ravaging their countries.
BWAH HA HA, more self-righteous BS from a Saint ,I’ve never heard.
Maybe ask yourself what was the cause of the food shortages?
FYI, true ‘Communism’ has yet to exist. The American Indian was close but not quite.
I don’t know about you but I felt the economy slowly falling when I was still a kid. Corazon Aquino is ruling the country back then. And I felt the php worth degragading.
Dapat maging state na lang ng US ang Pilipinas o kaya Federal system, para matigil na yan nga pulitikong yan, marunong pa sila sa democratic system, yung partido andami pag kakandidato, running for election here is so expensive, you need a billion pesos to run for presidency, kaya nagkakaroon ng utang na loob system dahil sa marunong pa sa democratic system ang mga politiko dito, sa US nga dalawa lng ang partido eh. nung time pa ni Rizal tumawid ka lng ng ilog iba na ang salita, kaya nkaugalian na dati un kanya kanya. pagkakaintindi ng iba sa kalayaan; kanya kanyang kagustuhan yung nasusunod, bababa lng ng sasakyan, gusto pa sa tabi ng puno. di n lng sa jeep/bus stop talaga. masyado malaya kaya kahit un urban planning noon di na nasunod.