Our caste system, aka our value of hierarchy and paternalism, has put us on a slippery slope for the longest time. It explains why we continually take the wrong turn at the fork.
It is at the core of our value system and informs our instincts: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism that we rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.
Worse, it has confined us to our static state and out of step from the very essence of the universe, i.e., dynamism – which is a manifestation of the story of creation.
Yet, we recognize and persistently call upon our Christian heritage to address the scourge of poverty. But who are we calling? Political patronage and oligarchy.
Sadly, that one-dimensional response reinforces our culture of impunity, sinking us more buried in the abyss.
Unsurprisingly, outside observers concluded that ours is a damaged culture.
We are incapable of social change.
Here’s a quote from an earlier posting: “True social reform has little to do with politics, for genuine cultural change operates on cycles far longer and more invisible than the perpetual churning of immediacies that occupy the political state and the political conscience.
“To unmoor ourselves from the burdens of the past, we must be engaged in the act of continual and conscious self-renewal:
“All men are partially buried in the grave of custom. Even virtue is no longer such if it is stagnant. A man’s life should continuously be as fresh as this river. It should be the same channel, but a new water every instant.
“Change begins when we finally choose to examine critically and then recalibrate the ill-serving codes and conventions handed down to us, often unquestioned, by the past and its power structures. It is essentially an act of imagination first.” [David Henry Thoreau; American essayist, poet, and philosopher; 1817-1862]
Thanks to CJ Panganiban, he throws a breath of fresh air: “The PCGG is mandated to chase not only ill-gotten wealth but also other assigned graft cases. Since the public is not familiar with its work, I urge the private sector, especially the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), to help in the chase and, more so, in the closure of these cases. The IBP can entice the legal academe, principally patriotic law students and their professors, to monitor the cases and assure their complete closure.” [“Closure of graft cases needs IBP's help,” Artemio V. Panganiban, WITH DUE RESPECT, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 12th Apr 2020]
Then consider: A perfect storm comes from a vicious circle; to overcome it needs an equal and opposite phenomenon, a virtuous circle. That is why the blog often speaks to the ecosystem of the universe – for example, photosynthesis – that allows organisms to thrive, including humankind.
And in our case, that is Juan de la Cruz. The challenge before us is, how do we ensure he thrives? In other words, we are not about nourishing and nurturing hierarchy but Juan de la Cruz himself. And the blog has repeatedly spoken to his hierarchy of needs.
Juan de la Cruz will not thrive in an underdeveloped economy – and nation – that is the regional laggard to boot.
With due respect to our economic managers, whatever we want to brag about – as in we’re among the fastest-growing economies – we are oblivious of innovation; otherwise, we would be ahead of the curve, not behind it. Meanwhile, Juan de la Cruz has become the poster child of abject poverty.
The evidence? We can’t provide him his basic physiological needs, as in water and electricity. What more of the nation’s higher-level needs, take innovation, as an example, that will make us a competitive economy and society?
What’s the point? Understanding human needs, from the physiological or basic needs to the aspirational ones, is central to internalize the drivers of innovation. That hierarchy of human needs is an endless source of “innovation” – which social progress and development demand.
It is a reminder of the story of creation – it allows organisms to thrive. We give up lots of knowledge base when our focus is on hierarchy and paternalism. And why we find ourselves deficient in providing Juan de la Cruz the basics of water and electricity – as well as our higher-level needs as a nation.
We just celebrated Easter. Beyond the passion and death of Christ, it is a reminder for us Christians to internalize the import of the crucifixion and resurrection. That until we can distinguish our true-self from our ego-self, we can’t partake in our “crucifixion” – and die to oneself – and miss our resurrection – and liberation.
To Juan de la Cruz, it is the bondage of poverty – and to the nation, underdevelopment and the bane of a regional laggard.
Let’s pause here: Why does the blog speak to spirituality – and those familiar to the writer’s Eastern European friends or even Steve Jobs? What about the story of creation and photosynthesis?
The person that edited the book the writer published was more direct: Why do you inject religion in your arguments? Because human development, as in progress and development, is a multidimensional challenge. And it goes full-circle, as in what goes around, comes around. And so, it better be virtuous, not vicious.
That is why among the concluding quotes in every posting goes this way: “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]
His friends introduced the writer to the president of an Eastern European country – and they said he was an economist. He helped us become a significant exporter; we don’t solely own the recognition; we own it with him. And the writer’s response was, no I’m not, I am a development worker.
Indeed, human development is complex, and that is why it’s best to devise a model, as in model thinking. Take reflective judgment, for instance. It says there are three levels in human development: (a) dualism, (b) multiplism, (c) relativism. [Johnson, David D., Dualistic, Multiplistic, and Relativistic Thinking; 1994. Honors Thesis; Paper 202; Southern Illinois University Carbondale.]
“Dualism considers the world to be dichotomous, e.g., black and white, good and bad, right and wrong. And that knowledge is quantitative.”
In other words, it is one-dimensional. Recall the distinction between analysis and analytics. We can do the correct analysis yet miss the forward view that analytics demand – as in our penchant for quick fixes that we keep missing the mark. Think of the comprehensive agrarian and land reform or the OFW phenomenon. Both analyses were spot on, yet neither is a sustainable undertaking or a virtuous circle.
“The third position is relativism: It is where considerable change had taken place in the individual. Knowledge became qualitative and sophisticated. As one gains more information, the outlook may give a new perspective. Something is not good or bad, but rather, one answer is better or worse than another. Metacognition (thinking about thinking) is present in this stage.
“Most people see that their religion is right and everybody else’s religion is wrong; yet, one can take another view: people feel their religion better fits their lifestyle and outlook.”
That is where Juan de la Cruz struggles, as did Padre Damaso. It is at the root of tribalism – which has infected even the American political system. On the other hand, Franciscan theology teaches the opposite. It is the minority view in the Catholic Church and explains why no pope had ever been named Francis until Pope Francis. Yet, it comes from Christ himself, rebelling against the authorities – that the scribes and Pharisees saw him a fraud.
“While education can influence reflective judgment, another factor that may affect the emergence of reflectivity is a personal experience – the content of a person’s life could determine the effect to which one may possess better reflective judgment skills.”
In other words, and the blog has spoken to this, because we in the Philippines lack the development experience that our neighbors have, we shall remain the regional laggard until we learn to embrace social change.
For example, given our value of hierarchy and paternalism, we still need to learn and relate to a higher entity – like the US. And why we would rather kick out the US military.
On the other hand, think of Singapore. As the city-state accelerates its development, it is moving up the competitiveness ranking globally; they are now ahead of the US.
We must be steeped in innovation to be globally competitive. For example, the writer’s Eastern European friends have developed an innovation culture that they continually have in the pipeline up-and-coming products and brands, designed to raise the consumer’s well-being.
It is worth repeating: Understanding human needs, from the physiological or basic needs to the aspirational ones, is central to internalize the drivers of innovation. That hierarchy of human needs is an endless source of “innovation” – which social progress and development demand.
Let’s pause again. Society, to develop and progress, requires innovation. Innovation, as the blog often says, is not for innovation’s sake. How do we get Juan de la Cruz, his physiological needs like water and electricity? We must focus on them! That is a great innovation exercise for Juan de la Cruz, not the war on drugs, for example.
But then again, the analysis is not the answer, if the prescription is not sustainable. Recall priest who said, “stop the dole-outs.” Instead, think of living a Christian life, as in undoing our caste system.
That means beyond the analysis, is the analytics. It means to think forward. To foresee, to be ahead of the curve, and to distinguish the vital few from the trivial many.
For example, if we’re talking of two tracks, one will be for Juan de la Cruz and the other for the Philippine economy. Recognize they will overlap. Thus, the hypotheses can be: (1) How do we provide the basics of water and electricity; and (2) How do we move up from a service-consumption economy to an industrial-investment economy.
We have on the drawing board: (a) Arangkada; (b) AmBisyon; (c) Tatak Pinoy. How do we pull them into a coherent ecosystem?
For example, we have a list of industries where we need road maps, and there are 42 of them. What are the vital few industries – or which must we prioritize – to rapidly move forward and develop “prototypes” so that learning will accelerate?
Speed is critical to whether we are addressing poverty or pursuing industrial development – and get to the incremental export receipts of $100 billion for us to come closer to the performance of our neighbors. [We should be laughing, given the reality of our instincts. The crab mentality will not allow us to prioritize the 42 industries, and the reason will sound sane, i.e., the fewer they are, the most potent cronies will then rule the day. What else is new?]
Where do the basics of water and electricity (and we can include the other critical support utilities and infrastructure projects) overlap between the requirements of Arangkada and the needs of Juan de la Cruz? The bigger the universe, the higher the economies of scale – for us to confidently develop an aggressive and integrated utility and infrastructure initiative.
It appears we’re doing that, but we can’t let Juan de la Cruz fall through the cracks nor the identified priority industries. For example, the EU has a tremendous union-wide infrastructure program, yet even the big economies like Italy and Spain lag in industry development. And they are the first ones to suffer in an economic slowdown.
That is why one-dimensional thinking can undermine major undertakings and fail the “sustainable or virtuous circle” test. Recall that the imperative is for humankind to thrive. That is why “innovation” is not for innovation’s sake.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, we can leave AI and self-driving cars to entities that are further up in the hierarchy of human needs. And let Bill Gates and more progressive countries to develop the vaccines for COVID-19. Recall dynamism, not any other isms. Sadly, because of parochialism and insularity, we are entertaining rightist-nationalism. [Consider: Nineteen countries produce airplanes; the world can’t have only nineteen countries benefit from such a primary transport mode. The writer’s old MNC-company sells day-to-day products in over 200 countries, more than the members of the UN; his Eastern European friends do it in 70 countries. And these two entities are 180 years apart, i.e., age is not a barrier.]
That is why the writer introduced his Eastern European friends to Steve Jobs, an innovator that is considered a genius in the company of Einstein, Rembrandt, Beethoven, among others – that is taught in a course at Yale.
His interest in the personal computer – that then came as hobby kits for enthusiasts to assemble – was way ahead of his time.
He imagined a personal computer that will allow people to nourish their creativity. That is why artists, scholars, researchers, R&D labs, and similar creative pursuits, preferred the Mac over the IBM PC. He wanted to make a dent in the universe.
He didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth. And his widow, who met him when she was in her early 20s, grew up with a similar worldview that today she is committed to giving away the wealth she inherited from Jobs.
He understood the dynamism of the universe. And the elements of an ecosystem that allows humankind to thrive. He surprised Bill Gates that from the personal computer, Jobs was moving to and developing the next generation Walkman. “Steve, you are a techie, why are you going outside, into music”?
Jobs understood that music is the way to a man’s soul. But he did not have the elements that will create the device he imagined. [As he later revealed in that memorable Stanford graduation speech, creativity is connecting the dots. But you can only do it backward, with the benefit of experience. See above; reflective judgment.]
And so, he tapped the genius of the Japanese in miniaturization. Think of the bonsai, even, not just the transistor radio. Because he needed a hard drive of a size that will fit a Walkman, if not smaller. And he saw the allure of glass – and they can be sculpted. He tapped an industry approaching its sunset if it was not yet a candidate for extinction.
Think of how he pulled together the above elements. It mirrors an ecosystem – a virtuous circle, as in the essence of the universe. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone married three older devices, the Walkman, cellphone, and point-and-shoot camera, but with state-of-the-art digital technology. It brings Beethoven to mind, marrying big and small sounds in his music.
He was thinking of the humankind, to get them a device that will nurture their creativity. Consider the inordinate volume of apps developed by third parties, including average individuals, using Apple devices as their platform regularly. Unsurprisingly, Apple, only about a decade since Jobs passed away, is well on its way into the wellness and healthcare space.
It will again unfold new efforts of the forward-thinking kind beneficial to humankind, in medical research, medical devices, and beyond. Jobs understood the dynamism of the universe.
Where is Juan de la Cruz? Why are we the regional laggard and the icon of poverty? See above: Our caste system has confined us to our static state and out of step from the very essence of the universe, i.e., dynamism – which is a manifestation of the story of creation.
It is a slippery slope. We can take our pick, a failed nation, or extinction?
Juan de la Cruz will not thrive in an underdeveloped economy and nation that is the regional laggard.
Gising bayan!
“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? Moreover, 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]
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