Category: Culture

Science may hold the key to understanding why Filipinos distrust one another

November 13, 2018 benign0 63 Comments

If there is one thing that has long baffled observers of social norms and collective behaviour, it is the predisposition of Filipinos to clanishness and distrust for one another. This lack of trust and extreme insularness that seem to be roadblocks to large-scale cooperation and organisation are what could likely be signficiantly hindering progress at…

Culture, Society

Filipinos need to get better at killing in order to prosper

October 23, 2018October 23, 2018 benign0 36 Comments

The seeming aversion of Filipinos to large-scale infrastructure projects — the sorts needed to achieve the vast economies of scale needed to compete in the global market likely stems from the Filipinos’ heritage of smallness. This prescient snippet quoted from Nick Joaquin’s seminal piece describes the underlying character of Philippine culture that is at the…

Culture, Development, Economy

To “economists” like @JCPunongbayan “Troll!” is a SOUND argument

October 19, 2018 benign0 48 Comments

I earlier wrote an article providing my viewpoint on the idea that there is such a notion as a “Philippine economy in the time of Marcos and Duterte”. This cites the topic of discussion in a symposium pitched using that title that features renowned PhD of Economics candidate and Rappler contributor JC Punongbayan. The points…

Culture, Economy

Is Hanlon’s Razor Even Applicable to A Society That is Chronically Committed to Harm Itself?

October 17, 2018 Moduli 8 Comments

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance.’ – Hanlon’s razor When a person is intelligent, and it shows, he is often referred to as a show-off and seen to be arrogant. Well it can be that that person is indeed arrogant, or it may just be an inaccurate perception of…

Culture, Education, Society

Dealing With a Bleeding, Stabbed-With-Truth Ego

October 5, 2018 Moduli 13 Comments

It’s amusing and annoying at the same time reading comments on blogs such as this, that point out the idiocy and the reasons why Filipinos, collectively, have a hard time getting out of the mud that he loves wallowing into. Words like racist, butthurt, asshole are thrown by either side. Some have never-ending thread of retaliation…

Culture, Society

Filipinos have no right to complain about fuel prices because they have no right to drive

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 benign0 15 Comments

Why did the Philippines grow a car culture to begin with? Filipinos can neither make cars nor fuel them using their own domestic resources. They neither have the roads on which to drive them comfortably nor the discipline and precision of design to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Indeed, what the supposed “car culture” Filipinos take…

Culture, Economy, Lifestyle

House Rep. John Bertiz’s arrogance mirrors the character of the Filipino people

October 2, 2018October 2, 2018 benign0 27 Comments

The brouhaha over House Representative John Bertiz not removing his shoes for a security check at the Manila International Airport is, itself, evidence that rules and the Law don’t really rule in the Philippines. In a modern society of laws, such a display of arrogance would have been swiftly dealt with and not have required…

Culture, Society

Why are Filipinos reluctant to call wrongdoing out?

September 30, 2018October 1, 2018 FallenAngel 18 Comments

Well, to be more specific, they are reluctant to call out, on the spot, wrongdoing with strangers, and especially with persons of higher social rank, and persons of authority. When it comes to a person of lower social rank – perceived or real – than themselves, quite a few Filipinos won’t hesitate to give a…

Civics, Crime, Culture