Beyond learned helplessness

Recall learned helplessness from a recent posting speaking to us Pinoys: Regardless of what we do nothing really will change, so why even put in any effort to change.

The writer is in Eastern Europe, so let's take a little detour. "Scale-up Europe. Tell me what I need to do to help startups in Europe, and together, we will do it." That's from Gunther Oettinger, European commissioner for digital economy and society.

That was said to an audience of top entrepreneurs and startup-association leaders in 2016. The outcome? Six months later, a hard-hitting manifesto of 49 recommendations emerged – the first of its kind in Europe.

The Economist [13th Oct 2018] offers its prognosis: Europe’s history explains the lag. In the 18th century, its lack of standardization made it the cradle of the industrial revolution. Rules and markets varied. Entrepreneurs who did not find support or luck in one country, like Cockerill, could find it in another. All this created competition and variety. Today, however, Europe’s patchwork is a disadvantage. New technologies require vast lakes of data, skilled labor and capital.

“True, there is progress. European universities are working more closely together, and in 2015 the EU adopted a new digital strategy that has simplified tax rules, ended roaming charges and removed barriers to cross-border online content sales. But about half of its measures—like smoother flows of data—remain mere proposals.”

Let’s get back to the Philippines. “Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia noted that ‘the economy should have grown by as much as 6.6 percent this first quarter if we were operating under the 2019 fiscal program.’

“The first-quarter GDP figures told the story. Government expenditures rose just 7.4 percent in the first quarter, slower than 13.6 percent a year ago, while public construction contracted 8.6 percent because of the constraints under the reenacted budget.” [Lethargic GDP growth, Editorial,manilastandard.net, 10th May 2019]

The economic planning secretary is expected to speak like one. However, to Juan de la Cruz, his reality goes beyond. For example, “The traffic decongestion plan of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is the stupidest traffic alleviation plan in our contemporary history. It seeks to ban provincial buses, so far, the only efficient carriers of people going to Metro Manila from many points in the country — given the rail service being inadequate — from entering the metropolis.” [Suspending stupidity, MARLEN V. RONQUILLO, The Manila Times, 12th May 2019]

Consider another PH reality: "Agribusiness: Pathways to prosperity," Dr. Emil Q. Javier, Manila Bulletin, 4th May 2019. "[This] book [by Rolando T. Dy] is about investments, institutions, good governance and increased attention to food and beverage manufacturing as ways of bringing prosperity to the countryside, and the economy.

"Its recurring theme is how more attention and innovations in agribusiness can help achieve the overarching national goal of reducing the incidence of poverty as stated in the Philippine Development Plan (2017–2022) of the current administration which now stands at 21.6%. This level of poverty is embarrassingly high compared with the poverty incidences of 0.6%, 10.5%, 11.3%, and 13.5% for Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, respectively."

What else is new? “We humans suffer from an advanced case of self-delusion. [We] like to see ourselves as free-willed, conscious beings, self-governing and set apart from other animals by our capacity for reasoning. Yet watch people closely [and] you find that we are more instinctual and a lot more like other creatures than we care to think.

"At the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [they] are doing just that. [What] they have revealed is that a good 90 percent of what most people do in any day follows routines so complete that their behavior can be predicted with just a few mathematical equations.

“It's difficult for people to accept [but] most of a person's everyday life is determined not by their conscious intentions and deliberate choices, but by mental processes put into motion by the environment.” [Why we are all creatures of habit, Mark Buchanan, newscientist.com, 4th Jul 2007]

Should we Pinoys then wonder why we can’t overcome our instincts that are the recurring themes of the blog? We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism, rely on political patronage and oligarchy, that at the end of the day, ours is a culture of impunity.

What to do? Here’s something refreshing: “I seem to have lost the fire that burned in my early years. I am despondent when I witness today how this nation has lost its moorings if not its very soul. My generation has fallen short of our promise to build for you a country that you could be proud of.

“We have become numb to the sufferings of our fellow citizens. We have succumbed to a new narrative that only the righteous has a right to live. We have allowed false promises to lure us to surrender our freedoms. We have tolerated crassness and cheered those who unleash venomous threats.

“Many democratic institutions as well as the Church have chosen to be like political turncoats who act as enablers or stay safe in deafening silence. I could simply say ‘lesson learned’; unfortunately, it was at your expense.” [A letter from De La Salle president, Elfren S. Cruz,BREAKTHROUGH, The Philippine Star, 12th May 2019]

Will we Pinoys ever learn community and the common good and commit accordingly? Here's a quote on commitment from the recent posting on learned helplessness: "When commitment is present, individuals have a sense of purpose and meaning for why they are doing what they are doing. When we have a purpose, when we are guided by a vision, when we never lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing, energy and passion are triggered that give meaning to our lives and lessen the impact of stress.”

It is a leadership challenge. As Rizal admonished, we Pinoys submit to tyranny because we love it. We need "leadership," not tyranny. However, we can't be enablers either. See above re letter from De La Salle president.

Leadership need not be perfect. Consider: “There’s a lot to dislike about the founding fathers and the war they and others fought for American independence.

“The stirring assertion that ‘all men are created equal’ did not, of course, apply to 500,000 black slaves — one in five of all souls occupying the 13 colonies when those words were written in 1776. Nor was it valid for Native Americans, women or indigents.

‘Democracy is never a thing done,’ wrote Archibald MacLeish, the poet and librarian of Congress. ‘Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing.’ The American Revolution lasted 3,089 days, and the result was epochal and enduring — the creation of the American Republic, among mankind’s most remarkable achievements. Nearly 90,000 more days have elapsed since those horsefly-swatting men asserted a human birthright of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Keeping faith with those who fought, suffered and died for the principles we profess to still cherish requires more than a nodding acquaintance with them, more than a perfunctory acknowledgment of their struggles.

“For better and for worse, their story is our story. Their fight remains our fight.” [Why We Still Care About America’s Founders, Rick Atkinson, The New York Times, 11th May 2019]

The writer doesn't research per se but writes about personal and profound experiences. He spent the first 20 years of his professional life in his hometown, Metro Manila, and he has been a US resident for over 30 years while spent a big chunk of the last 16 years in Europe.

They gave him a ringside view of how the world has unfolded. The rise of the Asian Tigers as well as China, the Asean economic community, NAFTA, and the EU on the economic front, punctuated the decades. They also saw the end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet empire that in turn accelerated globalization. Today we are witnessing the backlash not only of globalization but democracy too. 

His presence in Eastern Europe – once comprised of Soviet satellite states – is a representation of American exceptionalism: No one can impose on him to be a volunteer development worker. His heart is Filipino, and it explains why the blog is on its tenth year and counting.

“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And that they will be such is not to be doubted, for he who submits to tyranny loves it.” [We are ruled by Rizal’s ‘tyrants of tomorrow,’ Editorial, The Manila Times, 29th Dec 2015]

“Now I know why Paul dared to speak of ‘the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant.” [Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]

“As a major component for the education and reorientation of our people, mainstream media – their reporters, writers, photographers, columnists and editors – have an obligation to this country . . .” [Era of documented irrelevance: Mainstream media, critics and protesters, Homobono A. Adaza, The Manila Times, 25th Nov 2015]

“National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency’s value, as classical economics insists . . . A nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“You have to have a dream, whether big or small. Then plan, focus, work hard and be very determined to achieve your goals.” [Henry Sy Sr., Chairman Emeritus and Founder, SM Group (1924 - 2019)]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“Development [is informed by a people’s] worldview, cognitive capacity, values, moral development, self-identity, spirituality, and leadership . . .” [Frederic Laloux, Reinventing organizations, Nelson Parker, 2014]