James Fallows's A Damaged Culture: A New Philippines

James Fallows made such conclusion in his article A Damaged Culture: A New Philippines? that was published in The Atlantic. There is definitely not a single reason for me to disagree considering that many studies were made regarding the problem of the fragmented Philippines—or its lack of an important unifying factor that could evoke nationalism—such as in the written works of Niels Mulder. I would disagree, however, once he says that it is the ‘main barrier to development’.
The question of cultural nationalism is a subject of debate in postcolonial discourse: is it truly of utmost importance for a country to recover what it had lost in the colonial process? The Philippines had been colonized twice and for centuries, it fought for its liberation from foreign oppressors. Just like what he said, however, the Philippines ‘has only a weak offsetting sense of national identity’ owing to its ‘extreme geographic, tribal, and social-class differences’.
James Fallows mentioned the Filipino ethics of delicadeza, which is a hindrance to
As we all know, Philippine government is patterned based on American government. US colonization brought us the bicameralism where there are now two legislative chambers in the government to decentralize the hold of political power. Unfortunately, the values of debt-of-gratitude and pakikisama had been helpful in lifting the caciques up to politics: the nepotism yielded by the the tight kinship ties made sure that the power remains