A Critico-Constructive Analysis on the Political Ideology of the Philippine Popular Movements (1840-1910) via Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer Project

Erik John L Reyes | Asisclo Iii M. Abonado | Alvin John J Neyra | Heide P Capampangan | Raymundo R. Pavo

Discipline: Philosophy

Abstract:

Perplexities and contradictions present in contemporary politics give the impression that it undergoes a lasting eclipse. From the rise of technocratic rule in advanced First World countries and the two-faced results of the Arab Spring to the popularity of celebrity personalities in Philippine politics, the crisis of politics in the current era is palpable both in national and international scopes. In the context of Philippine politics, the symptoms that show its crisis have been noted by scholars over the years but have left untouched the core issue at hand: the structures that form the pre theoretical conceptions and reflections of man, society, and the world among the masses. In other words, it is about the question of political ideology or ideological matrix that supports political consciousness. This study aimed at elucidating the ideological matrix that continues to inform Philippine society. In order to trace and, in turn, examine this political ideology, a historical intervention has been conducted by way of studying the various popular movements in the Philippines during the period of 1840-1910. It is during this period that a political consciousness began to take form. The works of the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben provided the necessary conceptual tools and insights through the centrality of homo sacer in which the political ideology of the various popular movements were examined. Going through the political experience of the Greeks, the foundations of Western politics, and disputes in historiography, the result of the investigation was a tension between two conceptual images that will determine the course of Philippine politics. One image is tied to the bio-politics while the other points to the politics to come.