In 1946, the Philippines won its independence and established a democratic constitutional republic modeled after the United States. Yet the system of elites and political favors remained. How were oligarchic power and patrimonial practices sustained even with the creation of a democratic national government?
One explanation is that there is an innate “kinship” culture in Philippine society, in which social relations are driven by reciprocity (Wurfel 1963). Wurfel explains that Filipino political behavior is determined by a kinship system in which social ties and status are expressed through money or currency. One who can distribute wealth is considered a social leader. According to Wurfel, providing ‘material generosity’ is the duty of a leader and signals recognition as kindred, implying their political support. He states “generosity, which fills a necessary function in the kinship system, has been elevated to one of the supreme social virtues, certainly a requirement for political leadership” (Wurfel 769). Thus, a small-scale patrimonial act by a governmental candidate such as vote-buying can be viewed as the kinship system manifesting in a governmental form.
Furthermore, patrimonialism precludes the formation of government based on merit or capability. As “personal contacts become even more important for entrance into the central bureaucracy, the role of competitive examination becomes relatively marginal” (Hutchcroft 422). For example, during the 1970s Ferdinand Marcos nationalized the coconut industry and gave control of it to Eduardo Cojuangco, a friend of his son, who amassed close to a billion dollars from a Marcos decreed ‘coconut levy’ (Zich 125) and who, according to Forbes, remains the 8th richest man in the Philippines (Nam). Traditional systems of patrimonialism thwarted the development of politics based on interests other than kinship ties. As Wurfel notes “political behavior is marked by dyadic bonds, not corporate action” (770).
The creation of a national state merely expanded and centralized the opportunities for patrimonial practices. Pre-1946, when land in the Philippines was divided into feudalistic haciendas, resources for kinship distribution had been derived from the land. However, as the nation-state and government were established, resources could be derived from state capacities (such as tax collection, enactment of large-scale industries, manufacturing). A modernized state also brings with it enterprises beyond feudalist agricultural activities, including commerce, manufacturing, and finance that made “access to the state machinery more important than ever for the creation of wealth” (Hutchcroft 423).
Another factor that perpetuated the system of patrimonialism and oligarchy into the political system is external support. Patrimonial redistribution was necessary to sustain political power but there was no effort for sustainable growth in the economy. “Rent-seeking” from the government was how economic leaders profited from business enterprises rather than by innovation, increasing inputs, or improving “internal efficiencies and investments” (Hutchcroft 423). This system of patrimonialism put distribution pressure on politicians and removed the incentive for growth. The state suffered from the inability or unwillingness of the oligarchy to create sustainable revenue. Additionally, an inefficient national tax collection concentrated this dependence on patrimonialism. Hutchcroft writes, “real property and personal income tax rates remained low, and indirect taxes continued to supply 70-80 percent of total tax revenue for the state” (445). Tax exemption is one tool of patrimonial states use to reward clients, thus the creation of efficient tax revenue would undermine support for the government. Thus foreign aid, primarily from ex-colonizer United States, was imperative to sustain the oligarchy. “Three years after independence the Philippine state nearly collapsed, in large part because of its lack of tariff autonomy vis-à-vis the former colonial power (U.S.) and its inability to extract revenue from the oligarchy” (Hutchcroft 421). Especially during the Cold War, the United States provided aid to many third world countries in order to guarantee their loyalty to Western nations, despite the dictatorial or repressive nature of these governments. In the Philippines, in return for military access and bases, the United States gave hundreds of millions to Ferdinand Marcos and counterinsurgency assistance, which prolonged his inefficient and corrupt regime. Whatever growth the Philippines experienced during these years was largely a result of foreign inflow, which went into the pockets of Marcos and his patrimonial obligations rather than developmental state-building enterprises. Foreign aid allowed patrimonialism to continue despite its unsustainability and reduced the incentive to create real economic development.
Thus despite a façade of democracy (elections, constitutions, etc.), political policies narrowly served the interests of the oligarchy and their supporters and excluded the masses. Meaningful democracy had barely even had a chance to develop when Marcos established his authoritarian regime. The introduction of modern western governmental institutions without first addressing this entrenched system of patrimonialism explains why the Philippines have a government characterized by vested interests and cronyism. As the Philippines grew larger, this system exacerbated oligarchy and inequality of wealth.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EXCLUSION AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT
Political and economic exclusion for the majority of the population resulted from the domination of the government by oligarchy. Wealth requirements for political office, the distributional duties of elected politicians, and economic policies that reinforced elite interests all created a political system controlled by and for the oligarchy.
Oeschlin explains the detrimental effects of oligarchy on the economy. He states that as the “established producers hold political power, less-advanced economies will adopt elite-protecting institutions, preventing the economy from advancing” (Oeschlin 314). He argues that in lower developed economies, oligarchs create policies that protect their industries from competition at the expense of productivity, eventually slowing down aggregate capital accumulation and minimizing economic growth. Workers experience a reduced incentive to save because they are unable to engage in entrepreneurial activities due to high startup costs and their small savings see small returns while elites have a greater incentive to participate in the economy. Thus, wealth is concentrated in the hands of the oligarchy, while the overall economy is minimally developed.
One sees this pattern with the Philippines’ oligarchy, which controls both economics and politics. Under Oeschlin’s theory the Philippines should enforce elite-protecting policies that reduce aggregate savings, prevent competition, and concentrate wealth unevenly. Indeed, distributional policies over time have been largely to the benefit of oligarchs. There were monopolies, tax breaks, and subsidies characterizing oligarchic agricultural industries. Land reform efforts were neither substantial nor enforced. In the 1970s, Ferdinand Marcos claimed he would create a “New Society” by breaking up traditional haciendas and redistributing them to the tenant workers. However, only 8% of five million landless peasants were eligible for land redistribution acts and the largest industries, sugar and coconut (which employed 1/3 of all Filipinos), were exempt (Zich 123). Additionally, despite GNP indicators of growth, the majority of people did not see these benefits. During Marcos regime, growth was measured at 6% (Muego 227). Yet, minimum wage for urban workers remained at 11 pesos, while commodity prices increased (Muego 228). Thus, workers were essentially at subsistence levels and prevented from accumulating enough savings that would allow them to engage in entrepreneurial activities or see investment returns.
The historical oligarchy in the Philippines’s history was a burden on the development of democracy. Since political leaders require vast reserves of wealth to participate in elections, only the rich can run for office. Therefore, the Philippines’ elite retain and rotate political power because patrimonial practices are extended to electoral systems. To illustrate, in the 1960s, national election candidates’ expenditures were equivalent to 13% of the budget (the highest ratio of campaign cost to budget in the world at the time) and half of all campaign expenses were payments to local groups, individuals, and leaders (Wurfel 764). This vast spending indicates the wealth required to be a viable candidate, and also the patrimonial manner in which it is spent. Also, there have been negligible efforts in meaningful campaign reform. For example, the Republic Act No. 7166 in 1991 was meant to curb campaign expenditures. Candidates are supposed to spend maximum 10 pesos for every voter. According to Pera’t Pulitika, an election monitoring group in the Philippines, in 2007 it cost five billion pesos to finance a campaign, vastly exceeding what the Act’s limit states should be about 450 million. It was also roughly 3% of the GDP in 2007. In addition, there are no laws restricting the amount of campaign contributions, thereby giving wealthy special interests an advantage in producing a candidate. Thus, the wealthy oligarchy assumed and reinforced political control because of already existing perceptions as leaders and also with political practices that required vast sums of money to campaign with and distribute to supporters.
Another effect that patrimonialism has on governance is inconsistency. Government jobs are another source of patrimony, and these will shift as new presidents are elected. Balicasan states that the ‘personal
ในปี 1946 ฟิลิปปินส์ชนะเอกราช และก่อตั้งเป็นประชาธิปไตยสาธารณรัฐรัฐธรรมนูญจำลองหลังจากที่สหรัฐอเมริกา แต่ ระบบของฝ่ายอนุรักษ์และหอมเมืองยังคงอยู่ วิธีได้อำนาจ oligarchic และปฏิบัติ patrimonial ที่ยั่งยืนแม้จะ มีการสร้างของรัฐบาลแห่งชาติประชาธิปไตยหนึ่งอธิบายได้ว่า มีวัฒนธรรมเป็นข้อสอบ "ญาติ" ในสังคมฟิลิปปินส์ ซึ่งควบคุมความสัมพันธ์ทางสังคม โดย reciprocity (Wurfel 1963) Wurfel อธิบายว่า พฤติกรรมทางการเมืองฟิลิปปินส์ถูกกำหนด โดยระบบญาติที่ความสัมพันธ์ทางสังคมและสถานะจะแสดงเงินหรือสกุลเงิน ใครที่สามารถกระจายให้เลือกมากมายจะถือเป็นผู้นำทางสังคม ตาม Wurfel 'วัสดุอารีย์' ให้เป็นหน้าที่ของผู้นำ และสัญญาณการรับรู้เป็น kindred หน้าที่สนับสนุนทางการเมืองของพวกเขา เขาระบุ "ความเอื้ออาทร ที่เติมฟังก์ชันที่จำเป็นในระบบญาติ ได้รับการยกระดับคุณค่าทางสังคมสูงสุด แน่นอนความต้องการเป็นผู้นำทางการเมืองอย่างใดอย่างหนึ่ง" (Wurfel 769) ดังนั้น กระทำ patrimonial ที่ระบุ โดยผู้สมัครงานราชการเช่นซื้อเสียงสามารถดูเป็นญาติระบบ manifesting ในรูปแบบรัฐบาลนอกจากนี้ patrimonialism ไม่สามารถจัดตั้งรัฐบาลตามบุญหรือความสามารถ เป็น "ผู้ติดต่อส่วนบุคคลเป็นสิ่งสำคัญยิ่งสำหรับเข้าเป็นข้าราชการส่วนกลาง บทบาทของการสอบแข่งขันจะกำไรค่อนข้าง" (Hutchcroft 422) ตัวอย่าง ในระหว่างทศวรรษ 1970 เฟอร์ดินานด์ Marcos nationalized อุตสาหกรรมมะพร้าว และให้ควบคุมมัน Eduardo Cojuangco เพื่อนของบุตร ที่อยู่ไว้ใกล้กับพันล้านดอลลาร์จากการ Marcos decreed 'อัตรามะพร้าว' (Zich 125) และที่ ตาม Forbes คนรวยที่สุด 8 ในฟิลิปปินส์ (นาม) ระบบดั้งเดิมของ patrimonialism thwarted พัฒนาเมืองตามสถานที่อื่นที่ไม่ใช่ญาติผูก เป็น Wurfel บันทึก "พฤติกรรมทางการเมืองไว้ โดย dyadic พันธบัตร การดำเนินการขององค์กรไม่" (770)การสร้างรัฐแห่งชาติเพียงขยาย และโอกาสสำหรับ patrimonial ปฏิบัติส่วนกลาง ก่อน-1946 เมื่อที่ดินในฟิลิปปินส์ถูกแบ่งออกเป็น feudalistic haciendas ได้รับการมาทรัพยากรสำหรับแจกญาติจากแผ่นดิน อย่างไรก็ตาม เป็น nation-state และรัฐบาลได้ก่อตั้ง ทรัพยากรอาจได้มาจากรัฐกำลังการผลิต (เช่นการเก็บภาษี ออกของอุตสาหกรรมขนาดใหญ่ การผลิต) รัฐที่ทันสมัยนอกจากนี้ยังจะมีองค์กรนอกเหนือจากกิจกรรมทางการเกษตร feudalist พาณิชย์ ผลิต และเงินที่ทำ "ถึงสถานะเครื่องจักรสำคัญกว่าเคยสำหรับสร้างมั่งคั่ง" (Hutchcroft 423)Another factor that perpetuated the system of patrimonialism and oligarchy into the political system is external support. Patrimonial redistribution was necessary to sustain political power but there was no effort for sustainable growth in the economy. “Rent-seeking” from the government was how economic leaders profited from business enterprises rather than by innovation, increasing inputs, or improving “internal efficiencies and investments” (Hutchcroft 423). This system of patrimonialism put distribution pressure on politicians and removed the incentive for growth. The state suffered from the inability or unwillingness of the oligarchy to create sustainable revenue. Additionally, an inefficient national tax collection concentrated this dependence on patrimonialism. Hutchcroft writes, “real property and personal income tax rates remained low, and indirect taxes continued to supply 70-80 percent of total tax revenue for the state” (445). Tax exemption is one tool of patrimonial states use to reward clients, thus the creation of efficient tax revenue would undermine support for the government. Thus foreign aid, primarily from ex-colonizer United States, was imperative to sustain the oligarchy. “Three years after independence the Philippine state nearly collapsed, in large part because of its lack of tariff autonomy vis-à-vis the former colonial power (U.S.) and its inability to extract revenue from the oligarchy” (Hutchcroft 421). Especially during the Cold War, the United States provided aid to many third world countries in order to guarantee their loyalty to Western nations, despite the dictatorial or repressive nature of these governments. In the Philippines, in return for military access and bases, the United States gave hundreds of millions to Ferdinand Marcos and counterinsurgency assistance, which prolonged his inefficient and corrupt regime. Whatever growth the Philippines experienced during these years was largely a result of foreign inflow, which went into the pockets of Marcos and his patrimonial obligations rather than developmental state-building enterprises. Foreign aid allowed patrimonialism to continue despite its unsustainability and reduced the incentive to create real economic development.Thus despite a façade of democracy (elections, constitutions, etc.), political policies narrowly served the interests of the oligarchy and their supporters and excluded the masses. Meaningful democracy had barely even had a chance to develop when Marcos established his authoritarian regime. The introduction of modern western governmental institutions without first addressing this entrenched system of patrimonialism explains why the Philippines have a government characterized by vested interests and cronyism. As the Philippines grew larger, this system exacerbated oligarchy and inequality of wealth.POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EXCLUSION AND UNDERDEVELOPMENTPolitical and economic exclusion for the majority of the population resulted from the domination of the government by oligarchy. Wealth requirements for political office, the distributional duties of elected politicians, and economic policies that reinforced elite interests all created a political system controlled by and for the oligarchy.Oeschlin explains the detrimental effects of oligarchy on the economy. He states that as the “established producers hold political power, less-advanced economies will adopt elite-protecting institutions, preventing the economy from advancing” (Oeschlin 314). He argues that in lower developed economies, oligarchs create policies that protect their industries from competition at the expense of productivity, eventually slowing down aggregate capital accumulation and minimizing economic growth. Workers experience a reduced incentive to save because they are unable to engage in entrepreneurial activities due to high startup costs and their small savings see small returns while elites have a greater incentive to participate in the economy. Thus, wealth is concentrated in the hands of the oligarchy, while the overall economy is minimally developed.One sees this pattern with the Philippines’ oligarchy, which controls both economics and politics. Under Oeschlin’s theory the Philippines should enforce elite-protecting policies that reduce aggregate savings, prevent competition, and concentrate wealth unevenly. Indeed, distributional policies over time have been largely to the benefit of oligarchs. There were monopolies, tax breaks, and subsidies characterizing oligarchic agricultural industries. Land reform efforts were neither substantial nor enforced. In the 1970s, Ferdinand Marcos claimed he would create a “New Society” by breaking up traditional haciendas and redistributing them to the tenant workers. However, only 8% of five million landless peasants were eligible for land redistribution acts and the largest industries, sugar and coconut (which employed 1/3 of all Filipinos), were exempt (Zich 123). Additionally, despite GNP indicators of growth, the majority of people did not see these benefits. During Marcos regime, growth was measured at 6% (Muego 227). Yet, minimum wage for urban workers remained at 11 pesos, while commodity prices increased (Muego 228). Thus, workers were essentially at subsistence levels and prevented from accumulating enough savings that would allow them to engage in entrepreneurial activities or see investment returns.The historical oligarchy in the Philippines’s history was a burden on the development of democracy. Since political leaders require vast reserves of wealth to participate in elections, only the rich can run for office. Therefore, the Philippines’ elite retain and rotate political power because patrimonial practices are extended to electoral systems. To illustrate, in the 1960s, national election candidates’ expenditures were equivalent to 13% of the budget (the highest ratio of campaign cost to budget in the world at the time) and half of all campaign expenses were payments to local groups, individuals, and leaders (Wurfel 764). This vast spending indicates the wealth required to be a viable candidate, and also the patrimonial manner in which it is spent. Also, there have been negligible efforts in meaningful campaign reform. For example, the Republic Act No. 7166 in 1991 was meant to curb campaign expenditures. Candidates are supposed to spend maximum 10 pesos for every voter. According to Pera’t Pulitika, an election monitoring group in the Philippines, in 2007 it cost five billion pesos to finance a campaign, vastly exceeding what the Act’s limit states should be about 450 million. It was also roughly 3% of the GDP in 2007. In addition, there are no laws restricting the amount of campaign contributions, thereby giving wealthy special interests an advantage in producing a candidate. Thus, the wealthy oligarchy assumed and reinforced political control because of already existing perceptions as leaders and also with political practices that required vast sums of money to campaign with and distribute to supporters.Another effect that patrimonialism has on governance is inconsistency. Government jobs are another source of patrimony, and these will shift as new presidents are elected. Balicasan states that the ‘personal
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