There may be more miserable places to live in East AsiaвЂ“ Vietnam, CambodiaвЂ“but there are few others where the culture itself, rather than a communist political system, is the main barrier to development.вЂќ Unfortunately for its people, the Philippines illustrates the contrary: that culture can make a naturally rich country poor. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, SingaporeвЂ“all are short on natural resources, but all (as their officials never stop telling you) have clawed their way up through hard study and hard work. вЂњThe countries that surround the Philippines have become the worldвЂ™s most famous showcases for the impact of culture on economic development. вЂњHe was here for only 11 daysвЂќ was the familiar refrain coming from Palace mouthpieces.ДЇallows blamed culture for the countryвЂ™s dismal state:

The snide reaction to his short but penetrating analysis evaded the issues he raised in the same way that the Arroyo regime dodged the findings of Philip Alston by characterizing him as a parachute human rights rapporteur. Consequently, some Filipinos thought that allowed them to dismiss his work as вЂњparachute journalism.вЂќД«ut FallowsвЂ™ essay deserved better treatment. His work was based on two visits to the country. вЂњA Damaged CultureвЂќ was the title of the 7000-word essay written by James Fallows 20 years ago. Last week, an article by Manuel L Quezon III, вЂњHow FallowsвЂ™ Essay Gutted Morale of the Filipinos,вЂќ got me to Google the essay that вЂњhas had Filipinos reeling from the impact ever since.вЂќ

This article was published in Business Mirror Decemedition, p. New York: McGraw-Hill.Buencamino writes political commentary for Action for Economic Reforms. Sociology A Brief Introduction (8th Edition ed.). If everybody would work for a better Philippines P hilippines (meaning stable economy, commendable values system, and unwavering faith on future success), as what functionalists and interactionists (Schaefer, 2009) say, then it will never be too late for the Philippines to mend its damaged culture.ДЇallows, J. And this shall come first in the support of local products, events, traditions, etc. As a Lasallian, I must imbibe the idea of nationalism and relive the true Philippine culture by putting trust back to what I know our country can do and can be. And that is because, in the interactionist perspective (Schaefer, 2009), we are becoming hopeless with our own capabilities, and the capabilities of our government. Since we are now considered to be a developing country, it is inevitable for us to be dependent on the developed ones. And in the conflict perspective (Schaefer, 2009), this may be viewed as simply an effect of social classes. It is simply saying, leaving behind the colonial mentality. We have somehow forgotten that in order to achieve stability or, more specifically, economic success, we should work together towards that and not the economic success of another country. The Filipinos are dependent on the countries we are allied with, especially the United States. And that is the attitude of the people towards their own country.

In the functionalist perspective (Schaefer, 2009), one essential part of the society is dysfunctional. Thus, we lost the focus on what we already have and what we could make out of those resources. We were blinded bl inded by what the other countries have. We were influenced by too many external cultures. It may not be as a whole, but the identity of Philippine culture has been lost for a long time now. I agree with what James Fallows (1987) had said in his article оЂЂthat culture can make a naturally rich country poorоЂЃ because that is how the Philippine culture is now. Cybelle Yao INTSOCI- C31 A Damaged Culture By James Fallows (Reaction Paper)

A damaged culture james fallows