An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines by Alfred W. McCoy

An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines Reviews

• 
  Michael Gerald

  The family as an institution is always exalted in the Philippines; it is often presented in popular discourse, through the media, that a family that bonds together is a good thing. While true, popular perceptions of the family often preclude its darker side, that familial interests have been detrimental to the politics and political economy of the country.
  
  An Anarchy of Families is a classic text on the relationship between the Philippine state and society, specifically the socio-economic elites who have dominated the economic and political spheres of the country since the 19th century. It shows how the Philippine state has long been dominated by oligarchs who have economic bases (mostly, and initially, agricultural land) outside the state, but have access to it for political power to protect their economic interests through direct elective office or through connections using patronage, bribery, and violence.
  
  The oligarchy's domination of the Philippine state can be traced to the colonial period, especially under the US. The US co-opted the elites by creating state structures that the latter easily occupied due to their wealth and status. Since then, the state has been the source of rents through licenses, loans, and regulatory statutes that allow some to benefit from the market of a good or service. Domination of national and local state institutions by the the elite becomes a means for wealth accumulation, a system that can be described as oligarchic patrimonialism or patrimonial elite rule (Weber, 1978; Hutchcroft, 1991, 1998). Instead of a state that has considerable autonomy from societal groups, patrimonial elite rule sees an oligarchy preying on a weak state for particularistic interests.
  
  The Philippines' political economy, thus, sees an oligarchy that used to rely solely on the trade of raw agricultural products to the US, which further enriched their wealth but stunted Philippine industrialization and development. The oligarchs have since diversified their economic bases aside from the ownership of land, but their power and influence are still ubiquitous. The emergence, however, of new actors and a more assertive civil society has slightly made a dent on the oligarchs' grip of the state and serves as an indicator that other societal groups also have a stake in the state and make democracy more participatory and inclusive.
  
• 
  Nathan

  This book is an intimate look at Philippine political economy through detailed studies of local, clan-based power struggles. I am not usually a fan of edited collections, but this collection is thematically tight, well-researched, and morbidly gripping.
• 
  DC

  Simply put: this is a shocking (though interesting) look into the lives of some of the most powerful families in the Philippines. It almost makes one want to cry in angry anguish, honestly speaking.
• 
  Kitteh

  "there can be no conclusion to the ever-changing history of such a dynamic social stratum. Looking back over the past two hundred years, the Filipino elite, both provincial dynasties and the national oligarchy, has changed constantly in both composition and character. "
  
  How interesting.
• 
  bea :)

  (read over the summer) incredibly insightful and eye-opening; might re-read soon
• 
  Francie Kaye

  read a chapter for class. will read other chapters once i find time.
• 
  Tito Quiling, Jr.

  I started reading this volume right on the 12th, coinciding with the Philippine Independence Day. While it has been transparent that generations of powerful surnames have been controlling major components of Philippine society, the essays in this book revealed that socioeconomic power goes all the way back to our first colonial masters, where these families were able to manipulate their status by anchoring on the temper of the times and switching allegiances like taking off their day coats. All the more, with a handful of families tied to provincial and state politics, one realizes that democracy is only an illusion, under three empires and seven republics.