7

..
uall y eve ry stat e in Asi a
and intr act able ven alit y, but virt
econ omi c term s, pos ting
toda y is on th e mov e, at leas t in
spic uou sly alte ring for the
hist oric a chie vem ents tha t are con 11
ples.
bett er the mat eria l con diti on of peo
Wh ile the Phi lipp ines dec ays.
Not long from now , soci al hist oria
ns will be exp lain ing ;
.
why a cou ntry flau nted as "the onl
y Chr istia n ·nat ion in Asia "
on. The Phi lipp ine case is
is the mos t imp ove rish ed in the regi
mak ing Chr isti anit y, at leas t in
Asi a, syn ony mou s with N at io na lis m
bac kwa rdn ess and pov erty .
Phi lipp ine cris is
The trut h, how eve r, is tha t the
h of the mor al ord er, as
rep rese nts a der ang eme nt, not so muc
k sug ges ts why .
of dev elop men tal policy. Thi s boo
of policy, from which
Its cen tral them e is tha t the fail ure
to the fact tha t poli cy has
the cris is esse ntia lly stem s, is due
men ts as a nati on- stat e, I.•
igno red the cou ntry 's vita l req uire
req uire men ts. Phil ippi ne
and eve n coll ides wit h tho se
ored to mee t the stra tegi c
!f
dev elop men t poli cy has bee n tail
·p rofi t from the cou ntry 's 'Kec-1-o
nee ds of e·xte rna l inte rest s whi ch
dled with an eco nom y tha
situ atio n as a soci al org anis m sad
age . The y are forc es which
belo ngs to a dist ant, pre -ind ustr ial '
.
pro fit from the Phi lipp ine stat us quo
ntat ion of poli cy is a We begin with nationalism\
To the exte nt tha t this fata l mis orie
t of Fili pino fun ctio nari es'
resu lt of igno ranc e on the par Thi s is a term tha t h as cau s fi • b
I•
poli cy, it refl ects wha use it is com- '
r~s pon sibl e for the cou ntry 's on Y equ ated with_ JoVi of cou n
l n usio n - eca ,,
has des crib ed as th wh ~ .
nat ion alis t hist oria n Con stan tino aspect__g.£--thatl ove , but th a t is . '. icn--,t-1 not.
s ·s an
"mi sed uca tion of the Fili pino." ot its esse nce 1' ~
\
con scio us erro r, th •
To the exte nt tha t it is a func tion of Nat iona lism is both pow er and 8 h 1·1
oso phy of pow er ' · It
and dea dlie r tha n corr u · a pow er tha t has ~ ed P
it refl ects som ethi ng mor e sini ster peo p 1 es fir"f< n-g.. -.. ~ 1
_ :- ..-a-L--i011s...wh.ere the re
tion . -~r~ non e, and pro dde d them to exc epti ona l l'.chie vem ent
ak, the trut h, in i . '
But wha teve r it is of whi ch we spe o . . . . .~
st be told . For in tha t Ii ~ The Phi lipp ines was
enti rety and as one perc eive s it, mu e_opl ed by_ trib al com mu ·t·J..es- nfN nal! y a ~ tion - crf isla nds
r atio n Ti
free dom . ·
d in ~
the pro cess gav e the worJ a sm mad e her a stat e
•
d_ the firs t mod ~rn exa mpl e of
an Asi an peopJ~•s revo luti We ster n colo nial ism }
on aga mst
ALE JAN DR O LIC HA UC . .
.
of . .
! ( The vigo rou s nati ona lism ple, Jivi ng on arid soil
8 1
rtua Uy dev oid of natura reso urce s h a peo
d
. .
colo ssus tha t h . , as ma e of Jap an· the
conom1c · . s e 1s today,;
Oty: Institute ,l
I Lichauco, Alejandro. Nationalist. Quezon . i
I
I for Rural Industrialization, Inc., 1988 . r

l J
..
2
3
Natio nalis m has powe red India , only 40 years ago
the
becau se ~tis bo~ fact and power, it ~ould be foolh1
ar .t to defy, •·'
b eggin g bowl of Asia, to feed 800 millio n p~op~e, achi~ or even ignor e 1t.
ve self-
suffic iency in agric ultur e, and becom e a maJo r mdus . \Nati onali sm, howe ver, is more than a powe r It is
tnal state also a
equip ped with nucle ar capab ility. philosophy of powe r conce rned with strate gies, meth
ods and
Natio nalis m spurr ed a -great Arab leade r to natio naliz processes of build ing, devel opnjg and nouri shin the
e powe r of
the Suez Cana l and prove that his peopl e, regar ded a state as an organ ic entity .\ It is an outlook orne
as back- by the
ward by the world , could opera te ?: mode rn and perce ption that a state must consciously cultiv te and
intric ate amas s
" .power for . itself if it _is to survi ve and pros er as
enter prise. a social
org~isrn, and i~ - e~pond-e ffectw the needs and
It was natio nalis m which steele d a peopl e, subsi sting reqw13Jll.errt'sof the ·indiv idual s who constitjute 1
on
the padd ies of pre-i ndus trial Vietn am, to humb le and w cmi it exists .
expel a ),,
super powe r comm andin g the world 's most powe rful
milit ary It is natio nalis m as a philo sophy of power, as a meth
mach ine. od
( ' by which a state acqui res and develops power, that
conce rns
As Filip ino histo rian, Hora cio de la Costa , S.J., said · us in this study .
ofit: ·
Nati~ nalism is not ·only ~ fact; it is a power. Few _ '-To natio nalis ts, it is not enoug h that one loves his coun
thi~g s in the mode rn world have been able as_natio
try
nalis~ because even a fool can do that,f M._ore impo rtant than
has to releas e such wild energ ies from multit ude.s being
previ- , ,, loved, a state must be stron g becau se witho ut stren
ously passiv e and inert, and to drive them to attem gth it is
pt and ,' nothing..__J t woul d neith er be able to take care of
achiev e projec ts previo usly thoug ht to~ bey~nd the ~o~d
s
itself nor
of possib ility. It is this ability of nation alism to proyide for the well- being and secur ity of its citize ns.
~nspir e '\
su ch unque stioni ng loyalt y, such comp lete comm 1tm~n
t, i ' " Natio nalis ts view the world
as a--00 1 of natio
states w ho must live7is well as comp ete const antly with n-
that has- led schol ars like Carlto n Haye s to call
1t a
religi on.1 each
other \ The ragin g trade wars are an exam ple. ~e see
And speak ing of natio nalis m as a religi on, the r_e~o state s
~ed · forcin g each other to dism antle trade walls that pro~
India n philo sophe r,($ri Auro bindo :. who_ s~er ed politic ct their
al._1m- : dome stic indus tries and local sourc es of empl oyme nt.
rison ment unde r the Briti sh for his actiYities as a revo~ We see
the U.S. and Japa n \qcked in mort al economic comb
!ry natio nalis t, defin ed· it as a "relig ion iii whi:h ~an tnes
~on-
to_ · We see the Third Worl d strug gling again st the greed
at,
realiz e God in the natio n and in his conip atnot s. ~ -and .
· :i,uffocating impo sition s of indus trial count ries.
\From anoth er persp ectiv e, George_Soule~ the ~ote~
his•, Strug gle and comp etitio n are a fact and· a law of inter-
toriai l of economic id~as , obser ved th'a t "it woul d be h1sto
ncally natio nal life. To succeed, a state must-be stron g and powe
naive to asser t that the birth of mode m civiliz_ation coul~ rful
have ~n its own right . If it canno t comp ete, then it is riot
taken piace unatt ende d by the natio nalis m m econo likely to
mic and ' urvive indefinitel)t. . ·
politi cal affair s whic h accom panie d it."1
. , A weak and powe rless state is in an even more preca
We shall not attem pt to expla in why natio nalis m exists rious
. situat ion than a weak and powe rless indiv idual .iThe latter
It is enou gh that we rec.ognize it as a fact and as a powe can
r.' An4 at least avail of the symp athy and suppo rt of family, relati
ves
'
'
 4

5
and friends. But a state is not in a similar position. It has no
family or relatives to which it can turn. ~d th_ere are no The two are in fact ' intertwined. Independence is
a s late.
friends in international relations; only transient alhes who can necessary to power, and power is nec~ssary to independenco/
turn into adversaries overnight. \ Non-natio nalists, who profess patriotism a nci love of coun-
More important therefore than being loved by its people, try, are indifferent to the probler;ns of power and inclependenc€\
state must be strong and powerful enough to protect them ' They are indifferent, for example, to the fact that their country
:nd secure their welfare. A state that cannot do so is not likely is without the industries that would infuse sinew and muscle
to be respected by anyone, not even by its citizens. into its economy and thereby make it self-reliant and independ-
Such a state forfeits the right to _survive. ent. They are even indifferent to the fact that their country
'· lives in permanent dependence on another. It is enough that
Let us reflect on what is happening to the Philippines. they love their countl")\
Because she is w_e ak and powerless, ·she is constantly humili-
ated by others, by her creditors, and eve~ by those who ~all . But a state where nationalism as a force is either absent
themselves her friends and protectors. She 1s unable~ pr~VIde or fragile can only be weak and purposeless. It will merely drift
the vast majority ·of her people wjth the employment, hvehhood along, a constant temptation for others to abuse and take
and -security that they need from hei\ As a result, millions of ' advantage of. A state, however, whose people are infused with
Filipinos seek their fortunes abroad, and eventually surrender a vibrant nationalism cannot help but become a strong and
their. citizenship for another. respected state. The most prominent example of this is Japan.

We are perhaps the only state in the ~-orld embarra~sed ,>.( 1 Japan was pulverized by the United States during World
b a local movement which seeks the aboht1on of our nation- War II. But because of the vigorous nationaiism of the Japa-
h~od and works for our incorporation into the_fe~eral structure nese, Japan not only rebuilt and reconstructed herself but rose
of the very state which had colonized us. This 1s the depth to to become a world economic power, second only to the U.S. now,
which the Philippines has sunk in the esteem of some of h_er . and in many ways surpassing the latter in material accom-
plishmentsl
own peop le. B u t that is to be .expected,
. for a state
d that ·t·
fails
· peopl e, pa rt·c
its 1 u Jarly in their basic needs an necess1 1es,, \Asia-Pacific, where the Philippines is situated, throbs
inevitably loses their love and respect. Where a people ca~ n_o with "New Japans," such as South Korea and Taiwan, and
longer be proud of their country, and lose all ~ope for 1t, ~t , emerging "New Japans," such as Malaysia and Indonesia, all
becomes on lY a matter of time before they desert it or even tum, . driven by an overpowering nationalism and steered by an
against it. , economic philosophy to heights of accomplishments. South
This is the harsh reality which ~ationalist~ understand; · ."Korea and Taiwan now can produce warships and missiles.
t h e reason w h Y to th.e m it is impo~that . their state . be as·' , Malaysia has her own car and steel industries. Indonesia has
strong and as powerful as pos·sible\_ 1s alsQ explains the an integrated steel industry, in addition to which she now
b ·on of nationalists with independence. If a state must, m_anufactures aircrafts. Thailand has a petrochemical indus-
o sess1 • l ·--J- · , try.\
have strength and power, it must first acquire rea ,,-pen.-,
de nee..W i'thout independence, a people will be unable to pursru1 ~
L- l ' The Philippines cannot even produce a sophisticated toy
a course that would bring strength and power to t,,-c:mse
. ves .aj or a decent hammer.
1
6

We are losing t he race for surviva l. Povert y and necess ity

are compel ling million s of F ilipino s to acts and behavi or that
shame u s as a nation . Hence, it is import ant for Filipin os to
un ite around an econom ic philoso phy that can transfo rm their
countr y from the weak and powerl ess state that it is to one that i
.
is strong and powerf ul, or suffer the tragedy of its weakn ess.
A statA_,, as with an individ ual, pays a heavy penalty for
weakn ess. A weak state must be prepar ed to see not only its
natura l resour ces exploit ed and despoil ed, but its human re-
source s degrad ed as well. We are mute witnes ses to the
degrad ation of o~ men, women and childre n in the hands of
others who exploit them, and deprive them of their human ity
with flagran t impun ity becaus e our state is powerl ess to aid
Par t One
them. \
When a state is weak and powerl ess, govern ment itself
can only be weak and powerl ess becaus e the latter is simply
an instrum ent of the former . And becaus e it is weak, govern - E INT ERN ATI ON AL SET TIN G
ment eventu ally degene rates into a tool of powerf ul forces wit h
interes ts oppose d to the people. Hence, weak states are gen-
erally charac terized by govern ments that run counte r to their
people's interes ts, incapa ble of govern ing and of asserti ng their
author ity agains t@"er nal fore~
The questio n is, how does a state become strong a nd
powerf ul? If it is weak, how does it transfo rm that weakne ss
into strengt h?
This book is about an \econom ic philoso phy which has
enable d weak and powerless states to become strong a nd
powerf ul. It is an econom ic philoso phy that transc ends ideolo-
gies and accoun ts for the streng th and power of the strong and
powerf ul states today, whethe r capitalist, sociali st or commu-
nist. \
That phjloso phy is the only factor that can possibly
inspire and galvan ize a powerl ess, dishea rtened and divide
nation toward s the streng th, cohesiv eness and unity that coul
lead it to r ediscover the pride and promis e it had once known,