Culture and Privilege in Capitalist Asia - Jurusan Antropologi ...

298 MICHAEL PINCHES
in the Philippines that is profoundly cultural. As I have argued here, the emergence
of the Philippine new rich is rooted not only in the movements of capital, but also in
changing identities and ideologies. In particular, the new rich have been variously
constructed in terms of entrepreneurship, ethnicity, generation, consumption and
national identity. At the heart of the relationship between these constructions are
two areas of contention: one between the new rich and old elite; the other involving
the shifting regional reputation of the Philippines in the competition for capitalist
prosperity.
Increased prosperity in the Philippines during the mid-1990s has been a subject
of significant national pride among the privileged classes. Prompted by decades in
which the country was denigrated as the exception to the ‘Asian Miracle’, much of
this pride has found form in positively distinguishing the Philippines as a nation of
democracy and free enterprise in a region otherwise marked by authoritarianism.
In turn, this has found expression in the ideology of entrepreneurship which is seen
to explain the success and describe the character of the new rich. This
representation poses a major challenge to those associated with the old elite which
has come to stand for the opposing qualities of birthright privilege, indolence and
economic backwardness.
However, there are significant tensions in this progression. Although some
attempt has been made to construct entrepreneurship in terms of indigenous
Malay-Filipino ethnicity, the more pervasive ethnic construction of the new rich and
entrepreneurship is in terms of Filipino-Chinese identity, which has long been
denigrated as non-Filipino. Symbolic efforts from within the Filipino-Chinese
community and from the state to establish the nationalist credentials of the Filipino-
Chinese have been only partially successful. Those identified with the old elite have
attempted to counter the challenge of the new rich in two ways. First, they have
attempted to reconstruct themselves as a new generation or ‘new breed’
indistinguishable from the most prominent new rich entrepreneurs. Secondly, they
have attempted to assert their cultural authority in the area of consumption where
the new rich, while elevating themselves in spending power beyond the reach of
most Filipinos, are denigrated beside the old elite, as ostentatious and tasteless.
Just as there has been a selective attempt to identify the old rich with the
entrepreneurship of the most prominent new rich, so are more privileged and
powerful sections of the new rich being accepted for incorporation into the high
cultural domain of the old elite. However, these moves too have been only partially
successful as the stigmas of old elite indolence and new rich tastelessness continue
to haunt both groups as they set about building or rebuilding class hegemony.
Notes
Most of the research for this chapter was carried out in Metro Manila and Cebu
City in 1994—5, and was funded by the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University,
Perth, Australia. My thanks to the many people who generously assisted during
my fieldwork, in particular Lorraine Salazar, Chuchi Aguba and Manuel Velmonte.