Friday, July 16, 2004 Federalism: Toward regional self-determination By Antonio R. Santos Sr.
"IF we can agree that the economic problem of society is mainly one of rapid adaptation to changes in the particular circumstances of time and place, it would seem to follow that the ultimate decisions must be left to the people who are familiar with these circumstances, who know directly of the relevant changes and of the resources immediately available to meet them. . . We must solve it by some form of decentralization. . . The whole acts as one market, not because any of its members survey the whole field, but because their limited individual fields of vision sufficiently overlap so that through many intermediaries the relevant information is communicated to all". - F. A. Hayek Democracy, so constituted, can only attain its ostensible object when it represents a fair share of the voice of the people. A just government, above all, must profess equality as its very root and foundation.
A federal system of government can immediately bind us across the country through its promise of equal representation and opportunity for socio-economic progress.
In the first place, a federal-parliamentary system secures representation in proportion to numbers of every division of the electoral body: not two opposing parties alone, but every minority in the whole nation, consisting of a sufficiently large number to be entitled to a representative of his federal state. Unless there is equal representation, there is no real democracy, but a government of inequality and privilege: one part of the people ruling over those whose fair and equal share of influence in the representation is withheld from them. Because it is not at all improbable that the opinion declared was agreeable only to a minority of the nation, looking as if a majority decision has been arrived at. And this is roughly true in the present state of our government; if it were not, equitable development would not be a general sentiment.
A federation, duly kept in view, can considerably stir up fiscal responsibility.
The current economic problem is actually on how to make use of fragmented and widely dispersed resources. Full knowledge of economic conditions reduces this problem to one of pure logic. As different economic conditions predominate in different localities, decentralized competitive systems will vastly outperform centrally planned systems. We can then each dispense with the need for conscious control over resources and rely on our own knowledge of predictable local economic environment vis-à-vis general economic conditions. Because even if central planners had full knowledge of economic conditions, the calculations concerning the allocation of all resources are too difficult to perform. And even if central-planners were all-powerful, they would still have to work through an imperfect bureaucracy. The notion of omnipotence is therefore absurd.
Objectors of federal-parliamentary structure think that the plan is unworkable. But these are generally people who have barely given it a very slight and cursory examination. Today, many people, in fact, are more inclined to see federal-parliamentary as a practical model for almost all nations on the world scene. It is one that can be sold with only minor adjustments to countries that have no experience of it.
(MBC Updates is the official column of the Mindanao Business Council. For any comments and suggestions, please write us at MBC, 2/F DCCCII bldg., J.P.Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City, or email us at: mbcphil@mozcom.com)
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