Special topic: The Filipino power elite

Required reading: Simbulan, Dante C. The Modern Principalia: The Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Oligarchy (2005).

1. The concepts of “power elite” and “ruling class”: Marx, Mosca and Mills

2. Evolution of the Filipino power elite

a. Emergence of the principalia

b. The ilustrados of the late 19^th century

c. How the Americans tamed the ilustrados

d. Formation of the “modern principalia”

e. Collaboration and resistance

3. The power structure of Philippine society after 1946

a. Trajectories of development: from protectionism to neo-liberalism

b. Who make the policies of national significance?

i. What interest do they represent?

ii. Who are made to bear the costs?

4. The power game

a. Who are the major and minor players?

i. The landlords

ii. The capitalists

iii. The politicians

iv. The bureaucrats

v. The clerics

vi. The military

vii. The trade unions

viii. The media lords

ix. The celebrities

b. What it takes to get into the highest circle of power

c. How laws are made, interpreted and implemented

d. What bring down the rich and powerful?

5. The prospects of system change

a. How the system of elite rule preserves itself

b. Can the system be reformed within?

c. Is it possible to overturn the system?