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South Korea is building a semiconductor powerhouse while some Filipinos are still arguing about why we shouldn't even try to compete. You don't build an advanced economy by being afraid of industrial development.
The world won't wait for us to catch up.
So the Philippines is supposedly doomed to remain underdeveloped because of oligarchs? That's quite a convenient way to turn a serious political problem into an excuse for economic fatalism. Oligarchic capture is an obstacle, not an irreversible economic law.
Political monopolies can be challenged, institutions can be reformed, competition can be strengthened and industries can be built. None of these requires putting the country's economic future on hold.
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You keep describing how the Philippines became stuck in low-value semiconductor work, as if that somehow proves we should stop pursuing opportunities to move beyond it.
If you think Pax Silica will make us become a serious player in the semiconductor industry then you must be hallucinating. Becoming just an adjunct of the imperialist nations in this industry will not make PH any better. Your ad hominem won't make you any smarter than you think.
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But dismissing international partnerships as imperialism doesn't build a single Filipino chip-design company, establish a fabrication facility, or develop our technological capabilities.
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You're still confusing two different things. Nobody is arguing that oligarchic capture should be tolerated. The disagreement is your insistence that industrial development must wait until the oligarchy is dismantled.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH so like your last sentence is what I told you in the first place. Before we progress, we need to cut the oligarch tumor
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Who exactly benefits from keeping the Philippines underindustrialized while we wait for some supposedly perfect political transformation? Break monopolies, enforce accountability, strengthen institutions and attract strategic investments. Do all of it.
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And how exactly does keeping the Philippines underindustrialized dismantle the oligarchy? You can remove political dynasties from government and still have concentrated economic power. You can reform institutions while building industries.
Ironically enough, your argument for the Filipinos to industrialize is because of the entrenched elite.
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In fact, without stronger competition, more productive industries and a broader base of economic opportunities, existing economic power structures can remain entrenched.
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China is hardly proof that authoritarianism or dismantling an old elite is some magic formula for development. Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms began in 1978, while the large-scale replacement of Mao-era officials followed in 1982–1984.
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We need democratic institutions, accountability and industrial development moving forward together. If China could pursue economic reforms while restructuring its political system,
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Your analogy doesn't hold up. Treating an illness doesn't mean shutting down every other aspect of a patient's life until recovery. You treat the illness while keeping the patient functioning. That's exactly how national development should work.
No, the problem is that the Philippines have a tumor. Would you discharge a patient before treating their illness? If they are still sick, they'll keep on getting sick.
It's treatable. Life's not a race. Just look at the Sentinelese tribe. They are still existing for 60k+ years
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And dragging the Sentinelese into an argument about industrialization? Their continued existence has absolutely nothing to do with whether the Philippines should pursue economic development.
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