Were Lee and Mahathir engaging Deng in forward-thinking when they advised him to beg for Western money and technology? Were they likewise manifesting they had moved up in human development that they’re beyond dualism – either/or – and into relativism?
Consider: “Lee skillfully navigated Singapore among the world’s great powers. He recognized that in this globalized, interdependent world, small countries’ survival relied on big ones’ stability. With China rapidly rising into a significant regional power, the traditional power division between the US and China is losing balance and has become Southeast Asia's biggest concern.
“Lee took the lead in negotiating between China and America, in the best interest of his country as well as regional security.” [Lee Kuan Yew’s Legacy for China-Singapore Relations, Chen Nahui, and Xue Li, The Diplomat, 5th Dec 2016]
Lee’s worldview engendered his ability to forward-think and recognize this globalized, interdependent world.
Let’s stop right there.
Will we Filipinos ever figure out that we are not the center of the world? We are a subset of a more significant set, aka divine oneness. And if we believe in the Creator, it was meant to be.
That is why the blog speaks to the dynamism of creation, and nature manifests it 24/7 via the photosynthesis phenomenon. It is the heart of human development and why people and nations move up from dualism – either/or – to relativism.
And humankind is equipped accordingly, as in the hierarchy of human needs. And it is central to the 21st century’s demands of innovation. But that is why Padre Damaso is a pariah.
Are we surprised why innovation and global competitiveness elude us?
From Lee, let’s go to Mahathir. Consider what he said to us Filipinos. “He stressed the importance of industrializing. Industrialization became necessary because agriculture could not create enough jobs for the growing population.
“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.’” [Mahathir questions Filipino-style democracy, RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News, 11th Jul 2012]
These Asian leaders weren’t parochial and insular.
Let’s take Deng and Zhou Enlai. “Here in Paris, it is impossible for any China observer not to reflect on Deng Xiaoping and his student years in France, a period which marked him, and thus China’s history, with immeasurable impact.
“It is a bedrock portion of Deng Xiaoping’s apocryphal story that he studied in France, and was deeply impacted, both personally and ideologically, by the experience.
“Lesser emphasized outside of China is that Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong’s enigmatic yet charismatic premier and minister of foreign affairs, who played the pivotal role in the negotiations that led to the rapprochement of relations between the People’s Republic and the United States, was also a student in France.” [How Post-WWI France Helped Shape Revolutionary China, Bonnie Girard, The Diplomat, 22nd Jan 2019]
These Asian leaders engaged big nations while we wanted to burn bridges and disengage from the US because we’re still at the dualism level? But did the South China Sea imbroglio wake us up?
The acid test will be: To demonstrate that we can forward-think and create for this beloved nation, the ecosystem that will mirror the soul of creation. Think of the photosynthesis phenomenon.
Sadly, Padre Damaso consigned us to blind obedience. Consider 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.
Unsurprisingly, forward-thinking is not our cup of tea.
Here’s Lee again: “One of the most important lessons which he drew from the British – and one which, sadly, is seldom recalled today – is that independence neither required a complete break with the old colonial power nor was an automatic ticket to prosperity.
“British sense of fair play and Britain’s openness to foreigners were qualities that Mr. Lee always praised about the British. Yet, he had an irresistible desire – to criticize the British whenever he thought they were erring.” [Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had close ties with Britain, but was never a ‘colonial nostalgic,’ Jonathan Eyal, The Straits Times, 27th Mar 2015]
Do we see the similarities in worldviews between Lee and Mahathir? And do we wonder why our neighbors left us in the dust?
Consider: “AmBisyon Natin, 2040. By 2040, Filipinos enjoy a strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life. In 2040, we will all enjoy a stable and comfortable lifestyle, secure in the knowledge that we have enough for our daily needs and unexpected expenses, that we can plan and prepare for our own and our children's future. Our family lives together in a place of our own, and we have the freedom to go where we desire, protected, and enabled by a clean, efficient, and fair government.”
Compare our vision of the future against how Malaysia expressed theirs: “Vision 2020. The aim is to turn Malaysia into a fully industrialized country and quadruple per capita income by 2020. That will require the country to continue ascending the technological ‘ladder’ from low- to high-tech types of industrial production, with a corresponding increase in the intensity of capital investment and more excellent retention of value-added (i.e., the value added to raw materials in the production process) by Malaysian producers.” [http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Malaysia/sub5_4a/entry-3627.html]
Unmistakably, Malaysia’s vision is much far-reaching and better mirrors the photosynthesis phenomenon.
Forward-think, think “ecosystem.”
Do we recognize the folly of celebrating the OFW phenomenon?
What about paternalism? Does it mirror an ecosystem?
“Lee admired Britain’s National Health Service, the prototype of a state-funded welfare system copied by most other industrial nations, and recounted his surprise when, during his Cambridge days, he received a pair of spectacles and dental treatments for free.
“But concluded that the system is unaffordable and that it discourages economic enterprise. Britain’s political experiments inspired him, yet also served as a warning.” [Eyal, op. cit.]
In other words, there’s no free lunch. The answer to “inequality” is not “paternalism” but the commitment to the common good. That’s a quote from an earlier posting.
So, where are we?
“Vietnamese set to get richer than Filipinos this year — IMF,” Ian Nicolas Cigaral, Philstar.com, 14th Oct 2020. “Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua did not respond to request for comment.”
Will we ever want to learn from others? How come to benchmark is Greek to us?
Consider: “According to Bill Gates, Asking These 2 Questions Will Make You a Better Leader,” Jason Aten, inc.com, 18th Oct 2020.
“Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve tackled every big new problem the same way: by starting with two questions. I used this technique at Microsoft, and I still use it today.
“Here they are: Who has dealt with this problem well? And what can we learn from them?”
“It’s reasonable to acknowledge that Bill Gates has figured some stuff out. The company he started, Microsoft, is one of the three most valuable in the world. His foundation has donated billions to public health research, among other things, eradicate polio and fund vaccines for Covid-19. You don’t typically think of him as someone who has to look elsewhere for answers, but he does. More important, he’s not afraid to say that he does.
“Which is maybe the most significant indicator of the quality of someone’s leadership – their willingness to ask those two questions. Here’s why I think they are so powerful:
“First, it requires you to acknowledge that you don’t have it all figured out. Regardless of what you are building, there’s a pretty good chance someone else has information that would be helpful to you. There’s a good chance that someone else has already had success in that area, and the smartest thing you can do is figure out who they are.
“Second, ask yourself what they’ve done that you can learn. Take the best of what has been accomplished and improve on it. Instead of inventing something, you can devote your resources to innovating and refining what has already worked and made it your own.
“The two most important aspects of leadership are setting the direction and influencing people to work in that direction. Those two questions make you better at both since it gives you a better sense of which direction will give you the best chance of success, and the information and experience you need to get there.”
The challenge Juan de la Cruz faces seems to be above his head? See above; Vietnamese set to be more prosperous.
Let’s start with national leadership. We never had one like the Asian leaders referenced above.
Yet, that is not surprising when we recognize that the leaders we’ve elected reflected the worldview of Juan de la Cruz: 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.
We must create an ecosystem that will negate these instincts. Recall the demands of democracy, i.e., self-government, personal responsibility, and the common good.
How do we make AmBisyon Natin 2040 more dynamic?
Consider: “The aim is to turn Malaysia into a fully industrialized country and to quadruple per capita income by the year 2020.”
Like a broken record, the blog repeatedly raised the imperative to traverse poverty to prosperity. And given we’re a service/consumption economy, we must move up to an industrial/investment economy.
Let’s continue with the vision of Malaysia: “To be industrialized requires the country to continue ascending the technological ‘ladder,’ i.e., from low- to high-tech types of industrial production, with a corresponding increase in the intensity of capital investment and more excellent retention of value-added (i.e., the value added to raw materials in the production process) by Malaysian producers.”
How to do that? Consider what Mahathir said to us Filipinos. “He stressed the importance of industrializing. Industrialization became necessary because agriculture could not create enough jobs for the growing population.
“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.’”
And here’s again a quote from an earlier posting: “Let’s get back to Vietnam and how they surprised the rest of the world, no different from the Asian Tigers before them.
“That is why the blog teed up two concrete initiatives for the Philippines to consider.
“Since our most significant exports are similar to those of Vietnam (a) to lure the most significant global brand in electronic devices and offer an aggressive tax regime, and (b) to mirror the development of the Pearl River Delta Economic development zone.
“That is how we get the biggest bang for the buck. We have been kicking around lots of the ‘trivial many’ that we miss the ‘vital few.’
“And that is a function of the lack of human development experience.
“The answer to ‘inequality’ is not paternalism but the commitment to the common good.”
See above; “the Asian leaders referenced engaged big nations while we wanted to burn bridges and disengage from the US because we’re still at the dualism level? But did the South China Sea imbroglio wake us up?
“Have we learned the lesson? The acid test will be: To demonstrate that we can forward-think and create for this beloved nation, the ecosystem that will mirror the soul of creation. Think of the photosynthesis phenomenon.”
Do we recognize that we struggle to forward-think?
Gising bayan!
“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]
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