Document-4.pdf - Filipino State Analysis PDF

(AUGUST 26, 2023) How did Banlaoi describe the Philippine state? Banlaoi described the Philippine state as both a premature and weak state. It is a premature state because it was born before reaching the full term of statehood. Meaning, it became a state not through the development of a cohesive nat...

(AUGUST 26, 2023) How did Banlaoi describe the Philippine state? Banlaoi described the Philippine state as both a premature and weak state. It is a premature state because it was born before reaching the full term of statehood. Meaning, it became a state not through the development of a cohesive national consciousness, but through the actions of its former colonial masters. On the other hand, it’s weakness stems from its lack of relative autonomy from patriarchal interests of dominant Filipino Social classes, powerful political families and clans, and influential landed elite, and wealthy Filipino capitalists. What is a strong state? A strong state is a state that has already reached statehood. 1. The ends and purpose of government have become settled and founded on a significant ideological consensus (We can only say that a state is mature and strong if the society is strong; we have to establish a society before we can organize ourselves as a state. Established society: GB, CHINA, JAPAN Philippines: nauna ang state) 2. Most social groups have been successfully assimilated 3. Secessionism no longer constitutes a major goal of minorities (This is a qualitative narrative; no segment of population should have an inclination to separate from the government because this reflect a sense of insecurity e.g. Muslim groups, OFW) 4. Leaders are selected on the basis of a regular procedure like elections; No political dynasties (This is not true for Ph. There is no clause in the constitution that prohibits political dynasty. Elitist capitalism, patronage politics) 5. Military and policy organizations remain under effective civilian control 6. The mores of governance preclude personal enrichment (moral tendency to serve the people than their personal interest) Why does the colonial history of the Philippines matter in understanding the maturity of the country as a state? It’s better to be colonized by the British than the Spaniards. Why? The full authority of the Spaniards was given to the monarch so when they colonized states the representatives of Spain had the authority given by the monarch. The Church's authority at that time is God’s will. Thus, Indio mentality. Manipulations of Religion 2 signs a country is poor: 1. Lot of lottery stations 2. Lots of NGOs Why is it that statehood came first for us rather than society? The Philippines strived to become a state not because of the result of our natural blossoming of national consciousness but as a result of an overwhelming exasperation with the three centuries of oppression under the Spanish colonial administration, a half century of American resentment, and a four year colonial interruption of the Japanese. What are the requisites of a state? Territory Population Government Sovereignty What can we learn from the Chinese Society? Consolidation Communist Party of China; They are already well established as a society. What is the Confucianism society of China that makes them more mature to us? Loyalty Filial piety Honor Quality The only way to unite China and save it to poverty is through Consolidation of society “The problem is that we are not homogenous” “We live in a very pluralistic society (178+ political dynasties)” Ph = weak state and society China = strong society and weak state “ In the realm of statehood we are better than Taiwan because we are considered as a democratic functional state but notwithstanding the status of our democratic state, Taiwan is still way better.” “We haven’t really matured as a society that is able to assimilate all of our identities into one” Do you know what’s hard with having a multiparty system? There is no continuity. Why is it that the pol dynasty has a stronghold of all our political activities as a nation? Why is it that you have more leverage? Kinship, there is generational resilience. You are protecting your generations. “THE IDEAL IS A STRONG SOCIETY AND STRONG STATE” How do we achieve that? (SEPTEMBER 02, 2023) Inclusionary and exclusionary tendency of a democratic government For the weak state, he described it as a weak state because of the presence, the constant presence of Filipino social classes, the the powerful families, the clans and influential landed elite. While it is a premature state because it is predominantly based on anti colonial sentiment rather than a natural bunch formed through common historical experience. Inclusionary and exclusionary tendency of a democratic government. Firstly, we have to understand what it means to be included and excluded. What is exclusion and inclusion? How are we going to describe exclusion and inclusion in this course? So when we say exclusionary inclusion we talk about the majorities and minorities of our society or the polity as a whole. So from these two concepts, a quote here from the readings says that organizations are excellent at exclusion and poor at inclusion. What does this mean? What is, what is the cause why governments have the right to exclude and include you. What triggers exclusion and inclusion? Why does this state felt feels like they have the the power to exclude and include or create majorities or minorities in a society. So when we say that an administrator is the one is the major deciding authority on who gets to be included or excluded, we're talking about the judicial and political authority of that state. And from that we have to understand political power, political authority, legitimacy and capacity to further analyze the state of exclusion and inclusion, and possibly understand how to acquire power. What is power? Power is the ability to control or influence What is Authority? Political authority is the recognition of one’s authority and power What is Legitimacy? Legitimacy is the recognition of the consenting individual to your rule What is Capacity? Having your consenting individual to judge your governance Who is in charge, and is the in charge legitimate? If he or she is legitimate, can we assess if he or she can deliver his promises to the people? So without this four elements, the right to exclude and include and produce minorities and majorities in a society is not certain. So we have to understand what makes a state powerful, what makes them acquire authority and their legitimacy as well as maintaining their state capacity. What is power? Power is our ability to influence or control something. Political authority refers to a political actor who has a rightful authority, as mandated under a law or a constitution to to govern, or has the rightful authority to inflow to to push laws. Can power be illegal? When, Yes, illegal on power, Yes, yes. For how so? Because it's not legitimate. What makes power either illegal or legal as compared to authority? What makes power and authority totally different? Because we can always say to others, I have the power but I don't have the authority. What makes authority distinguishable from power and legitimacy and capacity? What is something that political authority has now along political power and along legitimacy along capacity? Power can be illegal because this means that power is acquired through different sources which we will discuss later on by Max Weber. Political power is inherent and it can be illegal because there are so many sources of power. It is also subjective. Authority cannot be illegal. TYPES OF POWER : 5 BASES OF POWER 1. 1. 2. 3. 4. Expert - Expert power is derived from an individual's knowledge, skills, or expertise in a particular domain. Referent - Referent power is derived on preferences, likes, dislikes, or affinity. Reward - Reward power is derived from the ability to provide rewards or incentives. Legitimate -This type of power is based on formal authority and position. Coercive Coercive power - involves the use of punishment or negative consequences. So which do you think is the most positive here for our society? Expert & legitimate. Types of Political Authority: Max Weber Traditional Authority: • Source: legitimized by long standing custom • Leadership style : Historic Personality • Ex: Patriarchy, Royal families with no political power but social influence, political dynasty, Legal-Rational Authority: • Source: Authority resides on the office of the person • Leadership style : Bureaucratic officials • Ex: US presidency, Congress, Modern parliamentary government, taxation, monetary and fiscal policy • You rely on the limitations of the law to impose the rules of the citizens Charismatic Authority: • Source: Based on leader’s personal qualities • Leadership style : Dynamic personality • Ex: Napoleon, Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. , Gandhi, Silicon valley (they treat the products with so much personality so you can buy more to them), Hollywood, Kpop Which authority is most dominant in our culture? Charisma is the only way to sustain the political dynasties and our society is living based on the survival of political dynasties or the political clans but there's a concept called Double Helix that democracy and charisma is not a good combination. Why is it that charisma and democracy is not a good combination . Charisma = appeal to emotion = weak Why does it result of to being a weak structure? Because you're only consolidating yourselves based on the emotions of the day. Sources of legitimacy. So there's a common notion that if you are recognized, you are already legitimate. Legitimate means you are recognized. A legitimate state in the world of states is you acquire the recognition of another state. Or if you are a legitimate authority, you acquire by law your political authority and that makes you legitimate. But according to some readings and the current literature, there are other sources for legitimacy beyond recognition. And this comes from the hobbesian perspective of the attempt to rule without legitimacy is the attempt to rule with coercion. This means that if you cannot get legitimacy from your constituents, then it's better to rule with coercion and to connect this to charisma. If the people don't like you, then better govern by coercion. SOURCES beyond recognition • Consent Why is it that consent is crucial in understanding legitimacy? a legitimate ruler essentially enjoys a consenting public. How is this different to consent in political authority? So what's the difference when you're giving a consent to a politically legitimate ruler versus an authorized ruler? Consent to acquire or garner political legitimacy requires an obligation under the law to deliver what you have promised. So by by consenting, when a public consents there political and individual freedoms to you as their ruler, you have an obligation to address that and you have an obligation to include them as the majority. But for political authority, yes, they are consenting that you can rule them for piencela that you are the authorized ruler, but you don't have to to give back or you don't have to serve them you, you just have the authority. You just enjoy the authority. Politically speaking, in terms of the real definition of legitimacy, an authority, a figure that recognizes himself as an authority, does not necessarily is obligated to serve you. Is it possible for to have authority but no legitimacy? Yes. Yes, you can. That's why we disrespect our elders. Our parents, sometimes they have the they have the authority over us. You have the authority, but you are not legitimate to me when you're going on because they have the authority over you. They pay your tuition. But in political science, they are not the legitimate. They don't have legitimate authority over you Authority is like title. Legitimacy is like responsibility. • Beneficial Consequence Beneficial consequence focuses in the utilitarian view. There is a consequence for me giving my consent to you. So you focus on the utilitarian requirement of the citizens, or it should be grounded on the principle of utility. OK, for those who don't know, utility is the political term for happiness. • Public Reason Public reason means that the political conceptions of justice and what is fair is consolidated. So in our society, what is fair to me might not be fair to you. • Democratic Approval Democratic approval is there is a consensus of the moral and religious aspect of what you instigated in public. FLOWCHART EXPLANATION: So from the state, we'll begin the story from the state generating political power. So a state has inherent political power, which then generates its own political authority once it's voted. And from that it starts off with a political legitimacy. Combine it with political participation. From that, the civil society generates state capacity or the ones entitled to critique the government if the quality of their governance is able to meet their expectations before they can commit to political obligations. So when we say political obligations, these are the things that we give back to the government in exchange of what they should provide to us in the form of taxes, our data. Those are our political obligations. Attempts at Inclusion (2 Responses) So that's some attempts at inclusion. One is the extreme kind #1, and #2 is a social, not so extreme kind. ❖ Counter-attack or counter-mobilization hypothesis This is usually military engagement.The state has entities in the Philippines, we have MILF in Mindanao. So these are the sectors of the society that are losing, losing end of the spectrum, and they might go to political or psychological exile, abandoning politics altogether. So for #1, this is your last resort when you are hopeless with the politics of your current state #2 entrapment. ❖ Entrapment Entrapment is like some of us who don't register for the elections. We don’t vote because we feel that the government has failed us. It is not able to deliver our universal need for liberty, freedom, equality and a good sense of well-being. So we feel that we are also excluded, even though in reality it's just symbolic for us to take part in political activities. So sometimes when we are required to do something, we just do it out of obligation. So from this civil society will have attempts at inclusion If if not everybody is included by the state, so they have a response. Either they counter attack or counter mobilize or they just stay in their place with the entrapment concept. Is it possible to be included in a society that is exclusionary? make political entrepreneurs out of them. What is the difference by of government versus governance? The government is a structure of legitimized authority, whereas for governance it's the process of legitimizing authority. So the president is called the head of government, which means that he is the legitimized authority of a structure. So he's not a legitimized authority of a process. Partisanship vs. Impartiality So from that, John Rawls explained that okay, if we're referring to the structure which is the governance. So government, we have to impose a value called impartiality. Impartiality means that you are impartial to all of the citizens. Why is impartiality better than equality? So let's consider, let's consider the role of the civil society. So we said earlier that the role of the civil society is to check the quality of government. So we are we have our eyes on you if you are leading us good enough for us to succeed and achieve our own happiness. So the civil society has a responsibility to keep the state in check. But it's not promoted by representative democracy. So the franchise that was exported by the US American citizens, representative democracy, which is so popular in the world, has values that are that are detrimental to our society #1 partisanship. It's all about whom you know. It's not what you can do. Rothstein: Representative democracy has these values, but it is not as effective if the quality of government is not check. Rhetoric vs. Matter of factness So we said that in representative democracies, the leader is articulate and charismatic because it's all about rhetoric. Your body language, your speaking style. Person centered vs. Impersonal Number three, person centered. You have to know how to keep them, keep them emotionally inclined or influenced by you other. Ideological mobilization vs. Neutrality So you mobilize the ideology when you hear your elders say that lat namansila corrupt, a lat namannama political corrupt And then you also tell your friend you are part of the mobilization of that ideology, that all politicians are corrupt and thus the next generation will hear the same thing and the and then they will have to transfer the same ideology to the next generation and so forth next. Ideological orientation vs. Epistemic Orientation Ideological orientation is what you believe is what is the truth. So my belief is my truth, and therefore it should be your truth as well. 4Next, epistemic orientation. So a civil society that is checking the quality of government follows the leadings of epistemology or the scientific findings. Political loyalty vs. Meritocracy So in a representative democracy, they don't give a SHIT about your credentials it's all about your constituents being loyal to you. Next meritocracy. So I don't care if you're loyal to me, Give me your output. Financially dependent vs. Financially independent They get used to you being financially dependent to them so that the only way out for you as an alternative is to go back to to being part of the representation. And lastly, financial independence. We don't rely on ING O's or foreign aid. our levels of democracy are high. But our GDP capital per growth is also very low. And aside from that, if you look at the same visual from Rothstein, the Philippines ranks high in terms of level of democracy, but our collection efficiency is very low. This means that our government revenue is not as high to to compensate for the production requirements of our society. The government is struggling to collect finances from its people. Why? Because a lot of us don't trust the government. And next is high levels of democracy also has very low levels of corruption. So can you see here the data that democracy doesn't guarantee equality? So it's a myth of democracy. And the control of corruption is actually lowest in the Philippines. So, to sum it up, civil society is important to ensure that political cronyism and patronage and appointments is is in check and to avoid infringements on autonomy and justice, misuse of public funds for private and public gain, social strife, escalating to terrorism and civil war. All these things address different types of political authority and among others, the importance of civil society, even though it's in the in the last end of the spectrum is they are able to help manage representative democracy in a weak state. So the question here is how do we manage when the Filipinos were introduced to the concept or to the ideology of representative democracy? While our culture and society is still weak, we use civil society. olitical cronyism and patronage in appointments ▰ Infringements on autonomy and justice ▰ Misuse of public funds for private and public gain ▰ Social strife, escalating to terrorism and civil war