And the nation’s misfortunes might more appropriately be tied to history, politics and economics, rather than a supposed lack of nationalism and pride.
He claimed that the culture of the country itself held them back.īut that same culture promotes and produces a remarkable resilience and warmth. He granted that they performed well when working in other societies. He also was careful to say that he wasn’t criticizing Filipinos themselves. Yes, there’s certainly something to Fallows’ suggestion that the overall context (which he calls “culture”) in which people live affects their conduct and attitudes, and in turn their country’s wellbeing. A Damaged Analysisĭespite the Philippines’ subsequent travails and its current state, the excellent journalist’s essay has not stood the test of time too well.
Damaged culture james fallows reaction paper plus#
And of course there was the matter of what he was comparing the Philippines with: the Japanese powerhouse plus the four nations known as “Asian tigers,” rather than poorer competitors elsewhere on the continent. Others, including his contrasting the perfectionism of Japanese bartenders with Filipinos as a society of allegedly chronic litterers, seemed petty. Some such comparisons, for example their relative unity and prosperity, made some sense. He contrasted the country with the leading economic Asian success stories, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. In the 1987 article, Fallows took the Philippines to task for what he criticized as a lack of pride and nationalism. Except I wonder whether the damaged culture is our own. – Stanford University economists, 2020 Suffering by Comparisonĭuring my 1987-93 stint working in the Philippines, the most controversial foreign piece published was James Fallows’ Atlantic critique of the country, “A Damaged Culture.” I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Study links Trump rallies to more than 700 Covid deaths “…I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay?”Įven if President Donald Trump shot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue, New York authorities could not punish him while he is in office…
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