marxist theory tagalog

Phases of Filipino Proletarianism in the 20th Century Dagling Tagalog: A Critique Using Pierre Macherey’s Theory of Gaps and Silences

• Reah Izza Paglinawan + −

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Self-image is deeply rooted in one’s place in society, as manifested in one’s involvement in its facets and realities which are spoken of in literature, and yet it is the “unspoken” or the “unsaid”– the gaps and silences in the texts– that exposes the ‘unconscious’ of the work where lies a text’s repressed historical narrative and discourse. Accordingly, this study was targeted toward the deep understanding of how Filipinos see themselves and each other as Filipinos (self-image and self-identity) during the American colonization in the Philippines in the 20th century, specifically as proletarians, through the examination of the textual gaps and silences in dagling Tagalog texts written and published in the early 20th century. Using the post-structuralist Marxist theory of gaps and silences by Pierre Macherey, this paper discusses the subject formation of Filipino characters into the image of a proletarian and the phases of Filipino proletarianism. The results indicate that there are three phases to which Filipino proletarians are subjected: from False Consciousness to Recognition of Oppression, and finally to Revolution or Self-emancipation through carrying the “duty.” The study concludes that the texts are propagandist literature, with anti-government, anti-capitalist, and anti-colonial sentiments hiding behind the mask of fiction and satire, emerging through the gaps and silences. Additionally, the portrayal of the Filipino proletariat in the texts is shaped by Marxist ideals of revolution, hence the inclination of the literary production of the texts towards the communist ideology.

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Marxism in the Philippines

The TWSC has always been associated to Marxist theorizing. This concern is motivated, among other things, by the question of radical perspectives as framework for analyzing Philippine political economy and its relevance to political praxis. Sixteen years after its seminal Marxism in the Philippines second series, the TWSC returns to this concern once again against the backdrop of severe economic crisis, politics of polarization, and neoliberal project of economic globalization. Revisiting Marxism is likewise an occasion for scholars and activists to re-examine Marxism (and its Filipino variant) in light of the growing importance of competing views–notably gender, nation, ethnicity, and religion.

Perspektibo sa Kontemporaryong Isyu: Conflict Theory

Ano ang conflict theory.

Ipinapaliwanag ng conflict theory na ang lipunan ay nasa estado ng isang perpetwal na tunggalian dahil sa pagtatalo ng mga tao sa mga limitadong likas na yaman. Nagkakaroon ng tensyon at hindi pagkakasunduan dahil sa hindi pantay na distribusyon ng kayamanan, inpluwensya at kapangyarihan sa pagitan ng mga pangkat sa loob ng lipunan at ang mga pagtatalo na ito ang nagtutulak sa mga panlipunang pagbabago na ating nasasaksihan.

Karl Marx at ang Conflict Theory

Ang conflict theory ay unang nakita sa mga sulat ni Karl Marx. Karamihan ng gawa ni Karl Marx ay umiikot sa tunggalin sa pagitan ng mga bourgeoise (ang mga may-ari ng pabrika at kapitalista) at proletariat (ang mga manggagawa at mga mahihirap).

Dahil sa mga epekto ng paglaganap ng kapitalismo sa Europa sa pang-ekonomiya , pampolitika, at panlipunan na mga institusyon, itunuturo ni Marx ang mga epekto na ito ang dahilan ng paglitaw ng maliit ngunit makapangyarihang pangkat ng bourgeoise at ang nakararaming maralitang pangkat ng proletariat. Paglitaw ng mga pangkat ay nagdulot ng tensyon sa lipunan dahil ang interes ng dalawang pangkat ay hindi nagtutugma, at ang mga yaman ng lipunan ay hindi patas na nahati sa mga taong bahagi ng lipunan.

Ayon sa kay Marx, ang mga bourgeoise ay mas interesado na panatilihin ang kanilang posisyon sa ibabaw ng  lipunan samantalang ang interes ng mga proletariat  ay nakaugat sa kagustuhan na makaakyat sa estado ng lipunan mula sa baba at pagbagsakin ang mga bourgeois upang makapagtatag ng isang pantay na lipunan.

Rebolusyon at Klasikal na Pananaw sa Conflict Theory

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. —  Karl Marx  &  Friedrich Engels   The Communist Manifesto  1848

Sa mga sulat ni Marx at Engles, ang mga rebolusyon ay hindi maiiwasan sa isang kapitalistang lipunan dahil sa mga kontradiksyon sa mismong mga katangiang taglay ng kapitalismo. Ang kapitalismo na nagbibigay pagkakataon sa kahit sino man na maging bahagi ng sistema na ito ngunit ang mga layunin ng kapitalismo ang nagdudulot ng paglala ng hindi pagkakapantay-pantay sa lipunan.

Ang pangunahing layunin ng kapitalismo ang pagkita ng salapi at muling mabawi ang puhunan, ang layunin na ito nagtutulak upang gawaing panguhing interes ng mga bourgeoise ay mag-isip ng paraan upang mas mapalaki pa ang kanilang kikitain na hindi gumagastos ng malaki.

Upang matupad nila ang layunin na ito, mas pipiliin ng mga bourgeoise na magbigay ng mababang sweldo sa mga manggagawa nila at magtipid sa mga gatos na may kaugnayan sa pagpapabuti sa  kondisyon ng pagtatrabaho. Ang mga sweldo ng manggagawa ay nagiging sapat lamang upang mamuhay sa pang-araw-araw samantala ang mga may-ari ng produksyon ay yumayaman pa lalo.

Ipinapaliwag ni Marx na kung makikita ng mga mahihirap ang mga pag-abuso kanilang nararanasan sa kamay ng mga may-ari ng produksyon ito ay magsisimula sa pagbuo ng kaisipan na tinatawag ni Engles na social consciousness, o ang kaliwanagan sa mga dahilan ng kahirapan ng manggagawa. Ang kaliwanagan na ito ang magtutulak sa mga manggagawa na magrebolusyon laban sa mga bourgeoise upang matapos nila ang pang-aalipin at eksploytasyon na kanilang nararanasan.

Ang pananaw ni Marx at Engels ay umiikot sa ideya na ang hindi pantay na posisyon sa pamayaman ang nagiging sanhi ng tunggalian at tensyon sa iba’t ibang pangkat sa lipunan. Ang mga interes ng mga pangkat na ito ay nagmumula sa kasalukuyan na estado nila sa lipunan.

May iba pang uri ang teorya na ito na nakatuon naman sa mga hindi pagkapantay-pantay ng lipunan dahil sa kasarian, lahi, ideolohiya at iba pang pagkakaiba sa mga grupo. Sa kabuoan, nais lamang bigyan diin ng teorya na ito na maraming aspeto ng lipunan ang nagdudulot ng hindi pagkapantay-pantay sa mamamayan.

Mga Sanggunian

 “Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems”, section 1.2 from the book  A Primer on Social Problems  (v. 1.0), https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-on-social-problems/s04-02-sociological-perspectives-on-s.html “Reading: Conflict Theory”, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/intro-to-sociology/chapter/conflict-theory/ “Understanding Conflict Theory”, Ashley Crossman, https://www.thoughtco.com/conflict-theory-3026622

Iba pang Artikulo

Ano ang Kahulugan ng Kontemporaryong Isyu Perspektibo sa Kontemporaryong Isyu: Sociological Imagination Multinational Corporation at Transnational Corporation

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Revisiting Marxism in the Philippines: Selected Essays

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