HOW GROUPISM IS DESTROYING PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
Bayanihan, akbayan, pakikitungo, and pakikipagkapwa are groupist, and they promote social positivism. Filipinos organize into a collective to promote cohesion, fairly distribute scarce resources, take care of each other, and survive.
Bayanihan, akbayan, pakikitungo, and pakikipagkapwa are groupist, and they promote social positivism. Filipinos organize into a collective to promote cohesion, fairly distribute scarce resources, take care of each other, and survive.
Groupism is defined as "the tendency to conform to the general thinking and behavior of a group", the opposite of "the pursuit of individual rather than common or collective interests"—individualism, which is often associated with ambition, greed, inequality, and yes, capitalism.
If unexamined or at first glance, groupism is good since it promotes social positivity and collectively aims for the betterment or welfare of many, but this positive groupism has a tendency to evolve into bandwagonism, groupthinking, cultic belongingness, and oppressive mobbing.
It is the negative groupism that is destroying Philippine society. We can see that in our politics in the forms of divisive grouping and hostile discourse that reject individual voices, unique views, unpopular ideas, and uncommon propositions, which are the good in individualism.
The rule of Duterte and his fraternity brothers is another example of negative groupism in Philippine politics. The political dominance of Bisaya in the current government is groupist too. Even DDS as a political movement fathered by Duterte is oppressively groupist to the core.
In our economy, Duterte's cronies are groupist too--Davao group, Tsinoy group, Yang Group, etc. We think of Chinese Filipinos as individualist capitalists. That's not the case since they're a close-knit group that invests in or loan funds for each other's business undertakings.
In our culture, the concept of "isolated case" is rare. There are pagpag eaters. The architecture of poverty we call iskwater is collective and segregated. There are people who believe in the "son of God" who has been accused of rape. Even flagellation or crucifixion is groupist.
In arts and literature, groupism is the rule. If an artist has no loud supporters, he can't mount a successful art exhibit or display his talent. If a writer isn't part of a literary circle, she should expect rejections and harsh criticisms, not writing awards and back-patting.
Even in academe, groupism is a thing. There are old-school professors who reject new ideas, locally educated professors who insist their nativist views are right, foreign-educated professors who introduce new schools of thought, and professors who are gatekeeping and oppressing.
Enough with the dominance of groupism that is toxic and veiled with positivity. I'm not rejecting its function during wars, pandemics, natural disasters, and social troubles--for collective survival. We need its positive side like how we need the positive side of individualism.
Individualism may be ambitious, greedy, and alienating, but its driving force has always been creativity, merit, and change, which are necessary if we want our groupist society to evolve into something that rejects bad mindless bandwagonism and values adventurous reformist minds.
Rizal, intellectually or politically, was an individualist. When everyone was talking about arms and revolution, he preached education and enlightenment. He didn't let parochial views limit his creativity or enslaving feudalism hold down his ambition. Isn't Rizal worth emulating?
What have we inherited from that failed groupist 1898 Revolution? Aguinaldo and his gang, the pioneers of groupist politics in the Philippines. Marcosian dictatorship and oppressive Dutertismo could be traced back to the murderous politics of Aguinaldo who loathed individualism.
The next time you call a good politician bobo, examine yourself whether you're an agent of groupism that manipulates you to twist truths in order to belong. The next time you call someone tanga because of his unpopular ideas, check if you're a groupist buffoon who hates reforms.
Lastly, when you ignore, insult, and dismiss intellectually individualistic people like me, you need to examine your intellectual paranoia--are you groupist because you need adulating allies to be relevant or you want to be validated by many to be socially valuable or important?
Done.
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