The good, the bad, and the ugly of Philippine Neoliberalism

Marcos had left behind. As a result, the newly inaugurated President Corazon Aquino had no choice but to adopt neoliberal policies and privatize Philippine industry. It worked. Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would eventually recover from the Marcos-era slump. Employment increased and prices were stable. However, it was not enough and it did not take long for problems in the system to surface.

flock to Twitter or Facebook and complain about “late-stage capitalism,” another nebulous term, or tag things as neoliberal in an attempt to discredit them. Ironically, they do so on platforms and devices they only have access to thanks to the systems they decry. “Working within the system” is no excuse for such hypocrisy as that very system, neoliberal capitalism, allows them to choose alternatives, boycott, or even make their own platforms and devices.

No one is forcing you to consume. If you do not like it, then do not use it.

You do not want socialism. What you want is welfare.

Anger without critical thought is not indignation—it is just noise. A fair assessment of other economic systems throughout history will provide the same conclusion about neoliberalism as what Winston Churchill arrived at regarding democracy: “[it] is the worst form of government— except for all the others that have been tried.”