On the Global Financial Crisis

The essential question of how the Global Financial Crisis started and its subsequent effects to the different economies of the world can never be explained if we will not look into the dialectics of the success and failure of Capitalism and the policy of Neo-Liberal Globalization. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you a paradigm that will attempt to comprehensively answer the question “Is the Philippine economy strong enough to overcome this Global economic meltdown?”

Let me establish first the fact that no economy in the world, either a Capitalist or Marxist, that is not affected by the Global Financial Crisis. The US, being the number one Capitalist country in the world almost having the monopoly of supply and demand, import and export, is a vital world economy. It controls almost all markets in relation to trade and finance. It is therefore conclusive that this is the failure of the US led policy of Neo-Liberal Globalization. The effects of the Housing bubble, and its preceding dot-com bubble, was never imagined to be this devastating. The US being a finance oligarch has failed to answer or resolve this problem.

So the question is, should we still continue to become a US “puppet” economy or should we be dependent on our own industries? In answering this question, let us look into the dynamics of our own economy. Economists would say that our country is in the pre-industrial stage, where we are in the process of developing our own industries. But are we really in this advanced stage of development? If we look into our own industries, what kind of industries do we have that produces the real economic indicators? Or are we just simply producing raw materials for other export so that other countries can manufacture and return to our country as imports?

My friends, if we look into the dynamics of our economy, let us not be blinded by numbers and statistics alone. The real indicators are those which you can find in the countryside, peasants practicing backward methods of farming and workers engaging in basic industrial work. Let us look into our education and how it helps in the development of our country, is quality education be equated to vocational courses as how CHED and TESDA promote it to be? Let us look into our labor force, is underemployment and unemployment a factor for progress? Now, if our government boasts of the high GNP and GDP that the country has, is it because of our strong industries or because of millions of pesos our OFW’s remit to the country? Is it still another indicator on the Diaspora of people rather than staying and investing our country?

Now, before we become confident with the economy that we have, let us define our influence in global politics and economy. Let us define how we help the economy of the basic masses, let us look into how the government can help uplift poverty and rise above mediocrity. And let us think of real interest of the people rather than the interest of the few. In this time of a global phenomenon where we face an impending economic destruction, should we still attach ourselves with the most vulnerable economy or should we rise on our own development? Ladies and Gentlemen, think of our future! A pleasant morning to everyone!