Imagining Modern Democracy

Ranilo Balaguer Hermida

Description

Winner of the 2016 Outstanding Scholarly Work Award for the School of Humanities presented by Ateneo de Manila University

This book is a pioneering study of Philippine democracy, one of the oldest in the Asian region, vis-à-vis Habermasian critical theory. Proceeding from a concise examination of the theory of law and democracy found in Habermas's Between Facts and Norms, Ranilo Balaguer Hermida explains how the law occupies the central role in both the legitimation of political power and the attainment of social integration. He then discusses how Habermas proposes to resolve the tension that exists in modern society between democratic norms and social facts, through the adoption of a lawmaking procedure whereby the informal sources of issues and opinions from the public sphere are allowed to develop and interact with the formal deliberations and decision processes inside the political system. He also explores certain provisions of the present Philippine Constitution that were expressly intended to restore democratic institutions and processes destroyed by decades of martial law, as well as the problems and hindrances that stand in the way of their full implementation.
Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. Habermasian Theory of Law and Democracy

1. The Paradoxical Duality of Modern Law

Communicative Action and Social Coordination
Twofold Dimensions of Legal Validity
The Normative Sense of the Modern Rule of Law
The Relation of Law to Democracy
The Discourse Principle as Ground of Legitimacy
The System of Rights as Conditions of Autonomy
State Authority and Administrative Power

2. The External Tension between Social Facts and Law

Restoring the Normative Sense in Democratic Theory
Constructing a Sociological Model of Power and Circulation
Democratic Lawmaking and the Public Sphere
Avenues for Agenda-Building in the Political System
Prospects for a Proceduralist Paradigm of Law

Part II. Philippine Democracy: Vision and Actuality

3. Constitutional Norms for a Democratic Nation

The Framing of the Philippine Constitution
Freedom and Rights in the Philippine Constitution
A. The System of Initiative and Referendum
B. The Party-List System
C. Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations
D. Local Government Autonomy and Decentralization

4. Bridging the Divide between Rhetoric and Practice

Enforcing the Rule of Law sans Exceptions
A. The System of Initiative and Referendum
B. The Party-List System
C. Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations
D. Local Government Autonomy and Decentralization
Building a Culture for a Democratic Way of Life

Conclusion

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie politique
• Southeast Asia
• History of Asia

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 19 novembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438453880
• Langue: English

Extrait

Imagining Modern Democracy
Imagining Modern Democracy
A Habermasian Assessment of the Philippine Experiment
Ranilo Balaguer Hermida
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2014 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Production by Diane Ganeles
Marketing by Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hermida, Ranilo Balaguer, 1960–
Imagining modern democracy : a Habermasian assessment of the Philippine experiment / Ranilo Balaguer Hermida.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-5387-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
EISBN 978-1-4384-5388-0 (ebook)
1. Democracy—Philippines. 2. Philippines—Politics and government. 3. Democracy—Philosophy. 4. Habermas, Jürgen. I. Title.
JQ1416.H47 2014
320.9599—dc23
2014002121
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. HABERMASIAN THEORY OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY
1. The Paradoxical Duality of Modern Law
Communicative Action and Social Coordination
Twofold Dimensions of Legal Validity
The Normative Sense of the Modern Rule of Law
The Relation of Law to Democracy
The Discourse Principle as Ground of Legitimacy
The System of Rights as Conditions for Autonomy
State Authority and Administrative Power
2. The External Tension between Social Facts and Law
Restoring the Normative Sense in Democratic Theory
Constructing a Sociological Model of Power Circulation
Democratic Lawmaking and the Public Sphere
Avenues for Agenda-Building in the Political System
Prospects for a Proceduralist Paradigm of Law
Part II. PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY: VISION AND ACTUALITY
3. Constitutional Norms for a Democratic Nation
The Framing of the Philippine Constitution
Freedom and Rights in the Philippine Constitution
A. The System of Initiative and Referendum
B. The Party-List System
C. Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations
D. Local Government Autonomy and Decentralization
4. Bridging the Divide between Rhetoric and Practice
Enforcing the Rule of Law sans Exceptions
A. The System of Initiative and Referendum
B. The Party-List System
C. Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations
D. Local Government Autonomy and Decentralization
Building a Culture for a Democratic Way of Life
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I magining Modern Democracy is an attempt to assess the political reality in Philippine society today against the vision and rhetoric of its present constitution. The framework employed for the assessment is the theory of law and democracy of Jürgen Habermas.
There have been many studies of his theory, as there have been countless studies on the Philippine constitution and democracy. But this is the first that employs the theory of Habermas as a framework to analyze an actually existing democracy—using it both as an exemplar and criterion for critique and evaluation of the democratic potential and practice in a particular country. Neither has there been a study of the Philippine constitutional and political institutions and processes from the viewpoint of Habermas, which is to say, in terms of their commitment to and actualization of the democratic ideals and principles that he advances. The present book stakes a modest claim as a pioneering effort in this regard.
Although my name appears singly as the author of this book, behind its gestation and completion are many individuals to whom I am indebted. I thank Professor David Rasmussen for his valuable endorsement of this book. It was while I was a research student under his direction at Boston College that I initially worked on the problem and framework of my study on Habermas and Philippine democracy. I thank Professor Peter Murphy (now Head of the School of Creative Arts at James Cook University) and Dr. Brett Hutchins, my main and associate supervisors, respectively, at Monash University, where I completed this study. I thank them not only for the proficiency and attention they accorded to my study but also for the countless acts of largesse and humanity they extended to me personally. Whatever merit this book possesses I owe in no small measure to them all. I am fully and solely responsible for all its limitations.
I thank Fr. Jose René Delariarte, O.S.A., and Fr. Harold Langahin, O.S.A, Prior and Procurator, respectively, of the San Agustin Center of Studies, Quezon City, and all the Augustinian Friars for welcoming me into their community. The comfort and silence as well as the routine and discipline of the seminary milieu provided me with the perfect atmosphere to focus on and finish the tedious work of updating and editing the original manuscript on which this book is based.
I thank all my colleagues and the staff at the Philosophy Department of the Ateneo de Manila University; in particular, I mention for their friendship and example of dedication to scholarship the following: Dr. Remmon Barbaza, Dr. Mark Joseph Calano, Dr. Jacklyn Cleofas, Fr. Luis David, S.J., Prof. Manuel Dy, Jr., Dr. Leovino Garcia, Prof. Rainier Ibana, Prof. Tom Rosario, Jr., Dr. Jean Page-Tan, Mr. Ediboy Calasanz, Ms. Rowie Azada-Palacios, Ms. Lovelyn Corpuz-Paclibar, and Mr. Roy Allan Tolentino. I thank the Dean of the School of Humanities, Dr. Maria Luz Vilches, and my Department Chair, Dr. Agustin Martin Rodriguez, for the research grant awarded to me during the initial phase of this book project. In a special way I acknowledge Ms. Rica Bolipata-Santos, Director of the Ateneo de Manila University Press, for her valuable suggestions in line with the book submission process, and Ms. Joanna Ruiz of the Office of the Vice-President for the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, for the cover design concept. I am indebted to Ms. Susan Pador of the Ateneo de Manila University Rizal Library for her expert assistance in the preparation of the index.
I thank most of all Dr. Michael Rinella, senior acquisitions editor at the State University of New York Press, for his interest in my proposal and his recommendation for its publication. I also thank the members of his staff for their assistance in the book production work.
This book would certainly not have been possible were it not for the inspiration and love and understanding of my wife and children. I offer this book as a testament of my gratitude and affection for them. I also present this book as my tribute to the cherished memory of my beloved parents. And I dedicate this book to our little Abbie Sofia and her cousins, whom my wife and I eagerly await to enlarge and enliven our family with the gift and grace of their wonder and presence.
There are many other people I wish to thank—my brother and my sister, my relatives and my friends—but there is not enough space to thank them all, nor is there a phrase I find adequate to express my thanks. And so I implore in my native tongue: Dios na po an magbalos saindo gabos!
R. B. H.
December 8, 2013
INTRODUCTION
T he first part of this book discusses the proceduralist paradigm through which Habermas proposes to uphold the normative demands of democracy in the face of the many difficulties that confront democratic practice in modern society. The second part analyzes certain provisions of the present Philippine constitution. The analysis is situated within actual political realities in Philippine society today, and its purpose is to evaluate how well an actually existing and often troubled Asian democracy fares against the Habermasian normative reconstruction of a modern democratic society. By looking at the Philippine constitution through the normative principles of Habermasian democratic theory, this book hopes to generate a keener appreciation of the dynamics of Philippine democratic politics in order to underscore its possibilities as well as its deficiencies. By employing the theoretical assertions of Habermas in examining the actual workings of Philippine democracy, it seeks some validation of his arguments and proposals, a modification, perhaps, of some of his views, and possibly an affirmation of his advocacy of democracy.
Modern democracy is a grandiose irony. Although democracy is a system designed to empower all citizens without exclusion, its modern incarnation virtually excludes the majority of citizens from the practice of governance. A concrete example of this exclusionary practice is in the area of lawmaking. The law in modern democratic states is for the most part positive law. 1 It is formal or enacted, and the task of crafting laws is carried out by specialized bodies or designated agencies like the parliament or legislature. Lawmaking has thus become the exclusive field of “technocrats” and “experts”—an anachronism in a state that is supposed to be distinguished precisely by the democratic genealogy of its laws. The result is the “political alienation of great portions of the population from their political representatives.” 2
There are also deep divisions and grave problems that have exerted tremendous strain on the constitutional systems of enduring democratic regimes. The strain is particularly evident in the context of the Asian geographical region, where the democratic model of governance has often been dismissed because of its alleged failure to produce good economic results. Amando Doronila notes how this context shapes the debate about the relationship between democratic politics and economic development:
When one is in Asia, this debate takes on