Reference to the ABS-CBN news article here:
Well, Mahathir has to! Democracy is dangerous to authoritarian leaders like him and his ilk!
The more I study the political economy of Malaysia, the more I realize that there are so much to "unlearn" from its racist, elitist, corrupt, authoritarian, and unjust political relations and socio-economic development.
But there's a very strong argument of Mahathir and all the other proponents of 'Asian Values' that I still am having difficulties to counter: that is, these guys have a 'theory of authoritarianism for development' (Why is authoritarianism conducive to capitalist development?). They also have strong empirical evidence to flaunt — Singapore, China, and Malaysia (and this may include Japan and South Korea during their catching-up period, as well as England and Western Europe during the colonial times).
I have yet to find a 'theory of democracy for development' (Why is democracy conducive to development? Or, what does democracy have that is necessarily developmental?). What we have so far are 'normative' arguments (i.e., why should democracy come with development) like the one from Amartya Sen's 'development as freedom'. I believe this is an important theoretical and practical challenge for democratic forces to communicate with the people and show that democracy is indeed conducive to development so as to put an end to the false nostalgia of the Marcos regime which continue to arouse the imagination of countless Filipinos.
Anyway, today is our Independence Day! Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan, Minamahal kong Pilipinas! Tungo sa tunay na kalayaan sa kahirapan at kawalan ng katarungang panlipunan! Tungo sa tunay na demokrasya ng mga mamamayang Pilipino!
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
No comments:
Post a Comment