Bayaban, Sarah Jane C.

Part II: Industrialized Economy

Industrialization and nationalism are the two main goals in our country today and they are highly interrelated. Nationalism cannot be attained without going through industrialization of our economy by the Filipinos themselves, and you cannot have an industrialized economy managed by Filipino people without the spirit of nationalism.

Economic nationalism means a lot to us. It is the control of resources of the Philippines so they may be utilized in the interest of the Filipinos. Philippines have always been a rawmaterial exporting nation which is an agricultural nation and is always dependent on a manufacturing nation. It is a fact that in any perspective that you look at it, the industrial nation is the gainer, and the agricultural nation is the loser. We export our raw materials in a cheap price since we cannot make use of them the way they are, and we import finished products at a high price because we need them in our daily lives. With that usual process, we can say that we are not in control of our resources even though we can make use of it.

With the use of industrialization, Philippines will no longer be the one benefitting less, and if we industrialize more, Filipinos will be the one to gain from the value added of raw materials by the manufacturing process. People that knows only how to plant, grow trees, raise animals, fish, and make handicrafts even if they are very resourceful cannot compete with people that knows how to make engines, machines, armaments, chemicals and ocean vessels. Heavy industrialization program will help the Filipinos in creating their own means of production where real wealth and economic power come.

Our economy is so backward and powerless today because of the phenomena that shaped the national condition of our country. Philippine industrialization became delayed not because of coincidence but because of the Americas Anti-Industrialization Policy for the Philippines.

Part II: Nationalist Industrialization

Nationalism is the natural antagonist of colonialism. It is ordinary to nations ruled by imperialists to have nationalist leaders to make sure of their independence. Lack of nationalism is the real reason why we cant attain industrialization, because our government do not try to fight foreign control. In order for the Filipinos to operationalize nationalism, political, economical, and military interventions of our country must be in our full control and must not be influenced by any foreign control. Foreign direct investments are the main reason for the failure of the promotion of the industrialization of the Filipino economy.

Philippines are rich in natural resources, and it is a fact that we have a lot of labor force, and so we have many reasons to expect that it is within our reach to develop a national economy. An economy dedicated so much to the production of raw materials for export, and industry concerned with the assembly of parts or packaging of products are not the real meaning and goal of the industrialization. It should be an industrialization which includes heavy industry and from there, would result to progress embracing the agricultural sector of the Philippines. Industrialization is and must be the beginning of the progress and development of our country and its people.

An agricultural nation cannot possibly preserve an armed force that can be respected by its own people moreover by others. A nation whose economy rests on a strong and solid industrial base is the only ones who can make and continue a competent military machine. This is important to nationalists. Nations without powerful industrial base are nations that have political independence in risk.

The process of industrialization should not be left to the proposal of private capital but should be undertaken as a joint responsibility of the government and private enterprise. Joint Resolution is concerned with the relationship of the profit motive and the economic development. Filipino private enterprise is an efficient way for industrialization and development. Creation of employment opportunities through building of industries should not

depend only with the decisions being made by the higher people handling the industry which are motivated only by profit.

It is obvious from the everyday lives of Filipinos the economic problems that have been causing difficulty in each and every family along with our country. The problem has always been living in our system, our policies, and to our law-makers. Policies in the Philippines have uncared for our vital requirements as a nation-state and even crashed with those requirements. Philippine crisis stands for a serious disorientation of policies, not so much of the moral order. Nationalism is not only a fact but also a power. It is the philosophy of power concerned in developing the power of a state.