Our conception of knowledge can be mainly based on how we, as observers, perceive it. This is a subjective view of how we see the world not as a “given”, but as something that has come to be agreed upon by convention. Today, this knowledge that makes up our reality determines the purpose of our actions, thus, it becomes the source of meaning that we put into our daily lives.
This paper aims to integrate the concepts, which the authors of the readings want to convey. I will discuss and summarize the ideas of the authors that primarily focused on the (de)colonization of knowledge, particularly in the social sciences. In the second part, I will speak about an issue in the Philippine Public Administration – a topic that falls within the realm of Political Science. I will try to explain how the Philippine bureaucracy has been colonized and is still being colonized up to now. Toward the end of the paper, I am tasked to present a recommendation on how this issue can be solved and what concrete actions we may take to help in the decolonization process in this particular area in the social sciences.
II. Integration of Concepts
The answer to the question of whether a particular knowledge is objective or subjective, I believe, is something that may still be value-laden – meaning, one’s answer is still subjective. Our idea of what passes as knowledge is based on our judgment that that something can be considered as knowledge, which depends on what area or discipline that knowledge belongs and relative to whoever says that it is indeed “knowledge” (Searle, Construction of Social Reality, p. 5).
The acquisition of knowledge in the social sciences constitutes our basic familiarity with “the classics”, which have become our theoretical foundation in our study of the contemporary issues present within each discipline (Searle, Our Country, Our Culture, p. 231). Tradition says that it is important to uplift one’s identity by being liberated from the knowledge that is based from one’s background or origin (ibid.). However, this may seem to contradict the main idea of “liberation”. Once we separate ourselves from our background that identifies us, we move into another’s “identity”, so to say. This can be clearly seen in our educational system. At this point, the colonization process begins. Generally speaking, Western knowledge evidently dominates the educational system. “Western values and views”, as Altbach puts it, are taught in most schools (Altbach, Education and Neocolonialism, p. 453). We have actually become academically dependent on the ideas offered by the West. Not only that. Since we have almost perfected the reshaping of our identity, and we have inculcated in us values from the West, it has become easier for us to relate to them, and even respond to the “demands for [our] expertise in the West” (Alatas, S. F. 2003: p. 605). In our case, this can be seen through the high demand of our professionals to become OFWs. The use of the English language has also become very indispensable. In the case of the Philippines, English is the medium of teaching, and obviously, foreigners from neighbor countries come to the Philippines to study the English language because we, Filipinos, have become very proficient in speaking it. We may also look at the cultural level in terms of “cultural rebirth” that Bishop speaks about (Bishop, 1990: p. 75). It is important to look back to our own culture and to rethink the values that have changed or have been replaced that might have affected our ways of thinking. Having knowledge of the culture is in itself a way to resist the dominant culture that controls all the other cultures. Again, in the case of the Philippines, this cultural or intellectual hegemony is present. The social sciences in the Philippines, I believe, are still dependent on Western ideas and views. The academe replicates Western concepts that lead to the colonization of the mind. We do not come up with our original ideas and viewpoints, but we continue to receive many of these from the outside (David, Ang Pagkagapos ng Agham Palipunang Pilipino, p. 96). Given the idea that generally, knowledge in the social sciences has been colonized, we now move on to one issue in Political Science – public administration.
III. Issue In Political Science: the case of Philippine Public Administration
The bureaucracy has become a key state apparatus that is in charge of the operations within the government. It operates and functions through public administration. Historically, the American colonization has become a great influence in the Philippine public administration. The Americans have introduced to us management and governance theories that we still apply today (Genato Rebullida and Serrano, 2006: p. 219). We have somehow patterned our administrative ways to fit into that of the West. This is the issue at hand: Is there really an existing Philippine Public Administration?
The answer to this question is usually a firm “NO”. However, we must rethink and say that there exists our own public administration. The problem is, it is not purely coming from us. If we talk about plain management, obviously, the ideas come from the West. However, if we consider the underlying factors involved in management, we can see that our culture, environment and society also shape the Philippine public administration. We can say that we have been colonized in terms of bureaucratic structure, functions, operations and management in general. Yet we have our own way of decolonizing the identity of our public administration. Filipino values and belief systems are also incorporated in the present bureaucracy. Our ideas of “pakikisama, utang na loob, and hiya” are seen in the bureaucracy. These are traditional Filipino values that actually lead to the downfall of the whole system. These values may lead to “graft and corruption, nepotism or favoritism, patron-client relations, and conflict between personal interest and public interest.” (ibid., p. 228) Thinking again, if this is how we will decolonize our idea of bureaucracy, this may eventually lead to the failure of our objective. Do we might as well adopt Western values and be colonized once more? My answer is no. The negative consequences of the actions of our bureaucrats and the Filipino society in general are dependent on how we use our knowledge of these cultural values. These values are essential part of our culture and we better use these for our further development. Scientific management theory that comes from the West is not actually necessary because culturally speaking, it does not fit our set of values and norms. It is the ideas coming from the outside that must adjust to the traditions we set, not the other way around.
III. Recommendations
The issue of establishing the identity of the Philippine public administration and its eventual separation from the Western theories and concepts has proven that culture is still an essential part of the development of a country’s bureaucratic system. Filipino values and norms are very strong to the extent these greatly influence even the Western ideas that have been introduced to us by the West. Still, our culture determines our management of our bureaucracy. To conclude, I recommend that the bureaucratic system adopt these Filipino values and use them sensibly for the betterment of the services that our bureaucrats offer us. Moreover, our bureaucrats must apply concepts, ideas and theories based on our culture and to what the society demands. In this way, we may slightly, but significantly “decolonize” the public administration in the Philippines.
References:
Readings
Alatas, Syed Farid (2003). ‘Academic Dependency and the Global Division of Labour in the Social Sciences’.
Altbach, Philip G (1971). ‘Education and Neocolonialism’.
Bishop, Alan J. (1990). ‘Western Mathematics: The Secret Weapon of Cultural Imperialism’ in Race and Class.
David, Randolf S. ‘Ang Pagkagapos ng Agham Panlipunang Pilipino’ sa Ikalawang Pambansang Kuprensya ng sikolohiyang Pilipino.
Searle, John R. ‘Is there a Crisis in American Higher Education?’ in Our Country, Our Culture.
_____________. The Construction of Social Reality.
Book
Genato Rebullida, Ma. Lourdes G., and Serrano Cecilia (2006). ‘Bureaucracy and Public Management in Democracy, Development, and Governance in the Philippines’ in Philippine Politics and Governance: An Introdudtion, ed. Noel M. Morada and Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem. Diliman, Quezon City: UP Press.
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