Communism? maybe not for a thousand years or two or three henceforth. Feudalism lasted quite a number of years as the dominant system before it was replaced by capitalism. The future of the Philippines (and the planet), can't be capitalism/imperialism- predicated on infinitely expanding markets resulting in faster consumption than the natural systems can replenish. From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs, indeed- so we won't have these Americans, Europeans and Japanese and their agents, the Filipino elites/generals as the Filipino government, leeching off the the sweat and tears of the majority of the Filipino people- the peasant, the workers, the OFW.
Jessie Alcantara | 03.18.06 - 5:07 pm | #

My uncle used to be part of the CPP. He survived the witchhunt of the early 90s, and now he's the one educating me about why the current leftist movement is not truly Communist; they are, to be politically accurate, Maoists and Stalinists.

And then you see these people hug Imee Marcos in rallies. Communism is dead, indeed.
Jon Limjap | Homepage | 03.16.06 - 11:11 pm | #

Part of the problem really is that NO ONE will own up to being a "Communist". Perhaps that is because like religions, there are many cults and schisms in the political left, with much ideological common ground among them all, but no real congruence. Real communists apparently do all their debating out of the barrel of the NPA's gun. But they aren't exactly dead. As for the Left in general, I would defend their democratic rights, but very little of their ideology or political programs for the Philippines. The Communist bogeyman tactic works on those who don't know the difference, which might be a lot of people. Perhaps, that is why the Palace used it. GMA has rediscovered the symbiotic relationship that can exist between Dictator and the Left, since both have benefited from the strife.
djb | Homepage | 03.14.06 - 5:02 pm | #

Yes mam. Terrorism is indeed the flavor of the month but it is a far cry of being an ideology as compared to communism and socialism.

True that communism may not flourish in our country within the next 100 years but this is so because the conditions are not right because we still have the Uncle Sam generation imbued with the "red scare syndrome."

I agree that the communists are dead, in the sense that the current one are as old as the current political elites. "magkakabatch sila ika nga."

But once they are gone, new people will take their place, new communists and socialists will grow up and if they remain true to the ideology's teaching of studying history very well, they will learn from the mistakes that their "elders" have committed before them.

Maybe by that time, socialism or communism have gone beyond South America and France and has spread to the rest of the world as the capitalist system that has fully engulfed the entire globe will finally create the right conditions to favor a worldwide movement of the working class, this will either be a socialist or communist in nature.
jhay | Homepage | 03.14.06 - 12:41 pm | #

Mong,

Precisely my problem with people equating Commmunist with Socialist. I am not disputing socialists exists, and have in fact dominate elections in Latin America for the last 2 decades. In France, socialists have also dominated elections since the fifth republic. Are socialists necessarily communist? Not so. Are Marxists necessarily communists? I beg to disagree.

Jhay,

I am sure people will always be drawn to radical ideologies as long as they suffer from the status quo. While Terrorism is the flavor the month, Communism has already gone sour. It carries with it the bagagge and abuses of a failed empire.

Is poverty a long-standing problem in the Philippines (and the world)? Yes. Is Communism going to solve poverty given the current socio-historical context? No. Is a Communist government in the Philippines even possible at this point in time? In the next ten years? Twenty? No. Is it desirable for some, yes. But feasible? No.
sparks | 03.14.06 - 11:26 am | #

As long as there is poverty and all of that horse manure with it, people will seek and be attracted to alternatives, Communism is one of them, and a bright at that.
jhay | Homepage | 03.14.06 - 10:33 am | #

In Latin America, socialist parties are winning the elections. In countries like Nepal and Turkey, Maoist forces are gaining strength.

Since the end of the Cold War, many scholars have predicted the dissolution of communist forces in the country. But they continue to exist and flourish from Luzon to Mindanao.

Perhaps, it is still true that poverty engenders radicalism.
mong | Homepage | 03.14.06 - 9:55 am | #