Shrinking our mind altogether - as in inward-looking - is why we won't belong to this group of 16 emerging economies that The Economist [15th Aug 2020] calls “the best in class.”
Among our neighbors, they include (1) Myanmar, (2) Vietnam, (3) China, (4) India, (5) Sri Lanka, (6) Thailand, (7) Malaysia.
The rest rounding out the top performers are (1) Albania, (2) Romania, (3) Panama, (4) Bulgaria, (5) Poland, (6) Turkey, (7) Hungary, (8) Chile, (9 ) Iraq.
“THIS AWFUL year could, paradoxically, be a good one for what economists call convergence. That normally occurs when poor economies grow faster than rich ones, narrowing the income gap between them. This year will be a bit different. Few emerging markets will grow at all. But because advanced economies will probably retreat even faster, the gap between them will narrow. ” [The Economist, op. cit.]
And they're the best in class.
Dynamism. That is one word the blog often discusses. And here's an online Tagalog translation: “ DinamÃsmo. This word is from the Spanish language. Dynamism: being active or dynamic; active: acting; works. ” [https://www.tagaloglang.com/dinamismo/]
It appears there is no precise word in Tagalog for dynamism.
Recall the blog speaks to the universe being a 24/7, dynamic phenomenon. In other words, we are not living in a static world.
“The universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. Also, the universe is accelerating in its expansion. All in all, the Hubble Space Telescope reveals an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Still, this number is likely to increase to about 200 billion as telescope technology in space improves. ” [Space.com]
The galaxies revealed by Hubble are way beyond what scientists call our “observable universe,” ie, much farther away from our Milky Way, or what we thought was the totality of the galaxy. Yet the dynamism of the universe is visible to humankind.
Take the photosynthesis phenomenon. The writer dates back to his [parochial] grade school days when the teacher asked the pupils to plant mung beans and water them every day. And report back how long it took for them to sprout. Three days, that was how fast it was.
Here's how Britannica Kids explains Photosynthesis: “It is the process in which green plants use sunlight to make their“ own ”food. Photosynthesis is necessary for life on Earth. Without it, there would be no green plants, and without green plants, there would be no animals.
“Photosynthesis requires sunlight, chlorophyll, water, and carbon dioxide gas. Chlorophyll is a substance in all green plants, especially in the leaves. Plants take in water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air.
“Photosynthesis starts when chlorophyll absorbs energy from sunlight. Green plants use this light energy to change water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and nutrients called sugars. The plants use some of the sugars and store the rest. The oxygen emits into the air.
“Photosynthesis is essential because almost all living things depend on plants for food. Photosynthesis is also important because of the oxygen it produces. Humans and other animals need to breathe in oxygen to survive. ” [Britannica Kids]
And that brings us to what an ecosystem is. And why the blog stresses that it represents a virtuous circle. The opposite being a vicious circle, as in a perfect storm.
Consider our instincts and why we are the regional laggard: 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.
On the other hand, here is how The Economist summarized the critical factors shared by the Best in Class economies: (1) stunning investment and trade levels; (2) higher levels of education and government effectiveness; (3) score highly with exports that are both eclectic and exclusive, as in higher value-added, that few other countries export.
Note that these top performers are not defined by a universal “ism” (nor population size) but by their dynamism. Take China, for example. Again, from The Economist: the “Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era” explains the continued success of China.
"The trend reflects China's new reality. The Communist Party has greater control over all aspects of life, and Mr. Xi has greater control over the party. That does not just mean it is a good idea for companies to butter him up. It means that he is in a position to reshape the economy within which they prosper or fail. What is he doing with it?
“Nothing good, say critics at home and abroad. He has brought reforms that liberalized the economy to a halt and smothered market forces, returning to a top-heavy state-dominated growth model that looks distinctly creaky. Private companies have rushed to set up party committees with an increasing say over strategy. Their once-swashbuckling bosses have adopted lower profiles. The title of a recent book by Nicholas Lardy of the Peterson Institute, an American think-tank, sums up the worries: 'The State Strikes Back.'
“Those observations are right. The conclusion is misleadingly wrong, encouraging a complacent and dangerous underestimate of China's potential trajectory. Mr. Xi is not simply inflating the state at the expense of the private sector. Instead, he presides over what he hopes will be a more muscular form of state capitalism.
“The idea is for state-owned companies to get more market discipline and private enterprises to get more party discipline, the better to achieve China's great collective mission. It is a project full of internal contradictions. But progress is already evident in some areas.
“Mr. Xi announced his agenda in 2013, vowing that China would 'let the market play a decisive role in allocating resources,' while reinforcing 'the leading role of the state-owned sector.' When domestic stocks crashed in 2015, the government's focus shifted to recapitalizing its banks, tightening controls on cross-border cash transfers, and taming the wildest corners of its financial system. But the party now thinks it has won this 'battle against financial risks' and is getting Mr. Xi's agenda back on track in a new, bolder form. ”
What insights can we glean from this dynamism of China? For example, state capitalism should bring memories of Lee Kuan Yew, who ran Singapore like a company. And Xi's state capitalism is the latest iteration of the Lee model.
And that can likewise be said of the Asian Tigers and, more recently, Vietnam.
And we in the Philippines can pursue state capitalism too. That is why the blog challenged (1) Messrs. Dominguez and Ang to replicate the marvel of Samsung Vietnam and (2) to replicate the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone - right in Central Luzon - being an outstanding model of a virtuous circle, way beyond the attributes of the Philippine version.
Why? What challenges must we hurdle? To get us toward an incremental GDP of $ 200 billion and beat the hell out of Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Recall the blog has stressed how the 21st century defined itself, ie, by innovation and global competition. And that “innovation” is not a matter of choice. It is the expression of how humankind responds to the dynamism of the universe, ie, by the hierarchy of human needs.
They are higher-level needs - beyond oxygen and food - and mere existence. Unsurprisingly, Apple may soon be a two-trillion-dollar enterprise. They will be more valuable than many economies and nations. And they are a model of diversity - as opposed to hierarchy - at the very top. "Don't ask me what I will do, do what is right," said Jobs to Cook, the successor. Those familiar with the blog may recall how the writer responded to his new Eastern European friends that wanted to know the rules of the free market, "There are no rules, only principles."
Imagine if humankind chose to stay put in Africa or the over 10 million OFWs did not pursue overseas employment.
What is the point? That is to demonstrate what parochialism and insularity represent.
For example, we are again talking about the gray or underground economy because it undercounts the Philippines' real GDP.
"In a recent group chat with my Ateneo Economics faculty colleagues, someone mused that perhaps the reported decline in the economy partly reflects how most purchases are now in the informal sector." [Overstated decline (?), Cielito F. Habito , NO FREE LUNCH, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18th Aug 2020]
But then again, that is to miss the vital few for the trivial many. We are yet to leverage Pareto. As necessary, Juan de la Cruz must learn to forward-think and prioritize. Unsurprisingly, we are the regional laggard. “
"In the pandemic, like a 400m race, the laurels go to whoever slows down at least," says The Economist. In other words, despite our informal economy, we still won't make it "best in class" - because even our neighbors have them. Sadly, human as we are, we won't get over nit-picking the successes of others.
The underground economy is an old topic. Boo Chanco wrote about it many years ago. " Underground economy dragging us down (?)," Boo Chanco, Philstar.com, 23rd Jun 2004.
“New studies indicate that the informal sector is not that benign. It could be a substantial factor in keeping the broader economy from moving on to the take-off stage.
“The McKinsey study points out why the underground market is bad news. 'Informality stifles economic growth and productivity in two ways. First, the powerful incentives and dynamics that tie companies to the gray economy keep them subscale and unproductive. Second, the cost advantages of avoiding taxes and regulations help informal companies take market share from bigger, more productive formal competitors. '
"Most significant is the study's conclusion that an economy with a large informal sector (ours is about 40 percent of GDP) gets caught in a 'low-productivity trap.' McKinsey's research indicates' informal companies become trapped in a self-reinforcing dynamic that confines them to subscale, inefficient, low-productivity work. Around the world, this research shows, they operate at just half the average productivity level of formal companies in the same sectors and at a small fraction of the productivity of the best companies. ”
The blog keeps plugging Vietnam. Consider: The trivial many we like to dwell on should have been put to bed if we only pause and ponder: How can one Vietnam enterprise deliver lots more economic impact to Vietnam than our eight most significant companies in the Philippines?
And with Samsung Vietnam plus AirPods Vietnam poised to bring over $ 80 billion in exports, how much will that dwarf the combined receipts we enjoy from OFW remittances and BPO revenues? And with far higher margins, to boot. What poverty? We can be in for another surprise with Vietnam gearing up to take on iPhone manufacturing too.
That's why the blog wants us to look beyond our shores and up to the heavens.
The humankind is a subset of the universe and the story of creation, as in the ecosystem. And why human undertakings cannot thrive in a vacuum.
What has stalled the greatness and the exceptionalism of America, for example? It is the tribalism reflected in polarized people. It is incongruous to the spirit of creation - or the universal law of divine oneness, or interconnectedness espoused by Franciscan Christian theology.
The welcome news is that conservatives are bailing out on Trump. " On Being a Biden Conservative: It's about upholding your principles at the expense of your politics;" Bret Stephens , The New York Times, 17th Aug 2020.
“ The domestic issue of our time is not the size of government. It's the unity of the country. We are living through the most severe social unrest in 50 years. We have a president who sparks division by nature and stokes it by design.
"Whatever else he does, Biden won't expend his political capital belittling, demeaning and humiliating other Americans. He won't treat opponents as enemies, or subordinates as toadies, or take supporters for fools. Joe Biden is the Democratic equivalent of George HW Bush - another ambitious vice president who believed in loyalty and decency more than in any particular set of ideas. History remembers the senior Bush's presidency well.
" I came of age as a conservative when the great foreign policy issue of the time was the survival and unity of what used to be called 'the free world.' That was a world that believed in more-open borders, more free trade, greater unity among the democratic powers, greater resolve against the totalitarian forces of the day. ”
Let's get back to Juan de la Cruz. Padre Damaso and EJKs are likewise incongruous to the spirit of creation.
To quote from a prior posting, “And that is why the nuances between imperialism and hegemony and sovereignty and impunity confound us.
"Beyond family and nation are the community and the common good, including the community of nations."
Recall the skills to thrive in the 21st century: (1) Critical thinking, (2) Creativity, (3) Collaboration, (4) Communication.
And so, beyond the ecosystem and the photosynthesis phenomenon, we have to teach our kids the skills that will make them thrive in this century.
But how do we, when our higher education, like the economy, is the regional laggard?
“ I Started Khan Academy. We Can Still Avoid an Education Catastrophe; ” Sal Khan, The New York Times, 13th Aug 2020.
“To ensure that kids keep progressing on both the academic and social-emotional fronts, it’s critical that educators provide live teacher-led video conference sessions. They must optimize both 'academic' coverage and social interaction. A baseline would be two or three 30-to-45-minute sessions in each of the core academic subjects each week. These should not be broadcast lectures, which are not particularly engaging even in person, much less over Zoom.
“These sessions need to drive conversations between students and teachers and among the students themselves. Teachers should do cold calling to ensure students are on their toes and pull them out of their screens. Teachers need to continually ask students to work on questions together and share their thinking. Ideally, virtual breakout sessions will allow students to debate and help each other.
“Finally, distance learning has made it much more difficult to ensure that students are doing their work. To avoid a situation where students either get credit for knowledge they don't have or vice versa, educators need simple mechanics to authenticate student work. For example, teachers could ask students to submit recordings of themselves thinking out loud while taking an exam. ”
In other words, we have to introduce our kids to metacognition - ie, to think about thinking or to challenge how they “think.” But then again, we must show them how.
We cannot always hide behind “Pinoy Kasi.”
We do not live in a static universe where we can preserve hierarchy or seek paternalism. There is no free lunch. We cannot be the caricature of Padre Damaso, Juan Tamad, and Bondying rolled into one.
Human undertakings cannot thrive in a vacuum - as in parochialism and insularity. It's high time we relearn what a virtuous circle is - as in an ecosystem, eg, photosynthesis. The knee-jerk is not what it is.
Think of how badly we fared in agribusiness given our mistaken notion that a comprehensive agrarian reform program was the be-all and end-all. Or that the OFW phenomenon and the BPO industry that followed will compensate for our failure to industrialize. Nor is teeing up 42 industry road maps is the answer. Neither is the gray or underground economy.
If we cannot visualize a virtuous circle - as in connecting the dots - chances are we will fail again.
Like “Pinoy Kasi,” we must toss “Pinoy ability.”
Awake town!
“Here is a land in which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor. And where freedom and its blessings are a reality for a minority and an illusion for the many. Here is a land consecrated to democracy but run by an entrenched plutocracy, dedicated to equality but mired in an archaic system of caste.
“But the fault was chiefly their own. Filipinos profess the love of country, but love themselves - individually - more. ” [Ninoy Aquino, Foreign Affairs magazine, July 1968; Stanley Karnow, New York Times Magazine, “Cory Aquino's Downhill Slide,” 19th Aug 1990.]
“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]
“True social reform has little to do with politics. 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.
“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]
“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]
“ 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]
No comments:
Post a Comment