Habits are hard to break

So why there is Alcoholic Anonymous, where they admit to being powerless over alcohol, that their lives have become unmanageable.

Powerless? Unmanageable life? Are we talking about Juan de la Cruz?

“That the Speakership is for sale is alarming. [The] House is tasked to pass legislation that affects the entire country. It is the prime mover of public policy. [The] choice of Speaker is not being made from the standpoint of upholding shared principles and values, not on whether the candidate is perceived as being honest and trustworthy and a good leader, not for demonstrating that he cares for the national agenda and the Filipino people.

“This is exactly the kind of perverted patronage relationship between the President and Congress that subverts the separation of powers, the checks and balances provided by our Constitution, which is supposed to counter government abuses.

“Indeed, we are doomed to get the government we deserve, that is, until we learn to vote wisely. But when will we ever learn?” [Transactional,BusinessMirror Editorial, 9th Jul 2019]

“What is most worrisome is that most of the agenda are populist, in other words, using scarce tax revenues with questionable long-term returns.

“Where is the development agenda to solve rural poverty? Where is the policy to attract investments in the countryside, to raise productivity and diversify the rural economy?

“Will the song-and-dance numbers contribute to President Duterte’s target to reduce rural poverty to 20 percent in 2022 from 30 percent in 2015? Rural poverty in Asean today is already 10 percent or less. We are losing the race.

“Does President Duterte realize the magnitude of the 17 million rural poor? In solving the rural poverty, do we have to reinvent the wheel, or learn from the lessons of our Asean neighbors?

“The usual politicians’ solutions—build farm-to-market roads, invest in postharvest facilities, and build more irrigation—are motherhood statements. Investments are not flowing into the countryside due to the agrarian reform’s limitations on land ownership of five hectares and land lease restrictions by the Department of Agrarian Reform. No investments, no jobs and no income.” [Senatorial candidates: Where is the poverty-reduction agenda (?), Rolando T. Dy, Mapping The Future, inquirer.net, 6th May 2019]

“What we have is an economy running on all cylinders except the one fired by agriculture. The agricultural sector is the lone drag to our otherwise hardy economic story. It has failed to expand at pace with the rate of population growth. As I always say, there is a limit to how often one can use the El Niño phenomenon as an excuse. No surprise, the agriculture secretary’s resignation was readily accepted. The job is too big for him.” [The State of the Nation, at its best and worst, Andrew J. Masigan, Numbers Don’t Lie, BusinessMirror, 7th Jul 2019]

Is agriculture the culprit, or is it a microcosm of the economy?

“Mahathir [stressed] the importance of industrializing. Industrialization became necessary because agriculture could not create enough jobs for the growing population. Jobless people threaten the stability of the country and undermine the very effort to create the jobs that they need.”

Translation: Agriculture must develop from subsistence farming or livelihood-focused to a national industrial enterprise – or from "farming" to consumer-packaged goods – that is technology-based, geared for scale, and global competition. 

Moreover, it must reflect a keen understanding of dynamic human needs, which explains why R&D and innovation won't ever cease. In other words, to be mired in the status quo is not of this world. Humans mirror the dynamism of the universe they live in; otherwise, they will be like a fish out of water.

Recall the blog has discussed the pig industry of Denmark, a globally competitive industry that is both "technology- and scale-driven" and founded on their cooperative ethos, not individual subsistence farming. We have Nestle to learn from too if we are prepared to shift paradigms.

The Philippine economy cannot sustain its momentum despite the rosy picture we like to paint if we keep to its two legs, i.e., OFW remittances and the BPO industry. It reveals a lack of dynamism and foresight. An industrial economy is a requisite platform to compete in the 21st century, where innovation and global competitiveness are "the price of entry."

Habits are hard to break. Does it explain why we can't seem to get a good handle on industrialization? For example, we cannot pretend that we don't have a black hole that is industry. It goes back to our hierarchical instincts that we are a poor country and have no chance to industrialize.

It explains why we celebrated the OFW phenomenon and created our alternative reality that a consumption economy that is inward-focused will shield us from the vagaries of the bigger world. So, beyond our hierarchical instincts, our values of parochialism and insularity surfaced, in the guise of nationalism. If we cannot come to grips with reality, we are indeed doomed.

“Mahathir said government must welcome more foreign direct investments and help businesses. ‘At a time when newly-independent countries were nationalizing foreign-owned industries and businesses, we decided to invite foreigners, including the former colonial masters to come back and invest in industries in Malaysia.’

Embracing former colonial masters or old enemies as Vietnam has done is what it is. As the blog has repeatedly discussed, they've been there and done that. In other words, we can't be juvenile and have a chip on our shoulder when the future of this nation is at stake. For example, when did China start its adventurism within our EEZ? Wasn’t it right after we kicked out the US military? 

The writer is back in New York but was with local friends in the Burgas region, by the Black Sea, in Bulgaria. He can only shake his head every time he is in the area because of the presence of the US military. These people, once the enemy of the West, are now in bed with the Americans. 

The writer came to this country to represent US exceptionalism, to assist an emerging nation as they sought the road to democracy and the free enterprise system. We in the elite class can't care less, but Juan de la Cruz is down in the dumps. So, Vietnam, likewise wanting to be in bed with the West and heeding Mahathir and Lee, generates more than the rising Philippine FDI we like to crow about, a mere fraction of Vietnam's.

Without a robust industrial ecosystem, there is no way we can replicate the trajectory of Vietnam, poised to get ahead of Singapore at the rate they are going. On the other hand, how long ago have we given up on being Singapore? We see it solely as a destination for our OFWs or a great place to visit and marvel.

Can we pause for a moment and ask ourselves what is this paradigm we operate in and where it has brought us? Can we imagine and visualize a different one? It takes practice to be dynamic, to look forward, and to foresee. It explains why innovation has stayed at our intellectual level. Sadly, it is also why we're the regional laggard.

‘Then we thought that Government must help businesses to succeed. The Japanese were condemned for doing this. But we saw no reason why Government should not help business to make profits. Twenty-eight per cent of the profits by businesses belong to the Government anyway through the corporate tax they had to pay. Basically, the Government was working for its 28% of the profit. We were not just helping the businessmen to make profits.

“Mahathir said investments in education were made in this regard. ‘To increase the revenue of the people Government spent almost 25% of the national budget on education and training. Thus, foreign as well as local investors were assured of a supply of educated and well-trained staff.’” [Mahathir questions Filipino-style democracy, RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News, 11th Jul 2012]

The above article about Mahathir from 2012 does not speak to Malaysia's Build, Build, Build. Since the early 80's to this day or just shy of four decades, Malaysia has not ceased infrastructure building. If we care to look outward and forward and learn from others, especially our neighbors, we will gain more than blowing our own horn.

“Indeed, we are doomed to get the government we deserve, that is, until we learn to vote wisely. But when will we ever learn?”

Why can't we seem to learn? Habits are hard to break, given our instincts: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism, and rely on patronage and oligarchy, that at the end of the day, ours is a culture of impunity. Moreover, they rob us of dynamism, to look forward, and foresee.

“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]