Philippines: Asia’s unsung success story?

May 23, 2024

PALO ALTO – Whenever I visit Stanford University, with its gorgeous architecture and temperate climate, I tend to succumb to a surreal combination of healthy skepticism and cautious optimism. On one hand, I never bought into the whole techno-optimist hype of “Big Tech” companies in the surrounding Silicon Valley. From laying out underwater fiber optic cables to launching satellites into space and dumping billions on speculative metaverses and cyborgs, the market hegemony of Tech Titans evokes a neo-medieval era of aristocratic self-indulgence with a vengeance.

The unjustifiable meta-wealth and puerile rants of Elon Musks of this world are a mockery of our most fundamental ideals as modern citizens. Tech Titans’ self-serving libertarian policy advocacies and Nietzschean nihilism constitute a clear threat to democracy, which is anchored in egalitarianism and robust state institutions. Nevertheless, I always welcomed visionary leadership based on realistic recognition of potential and positive trends. My latest talk at Stanford concerned the future of the Southeast Asian region. Joined by Indonesia’s former trade minister Gita Wirjawan as well as Professor Don Emmerson of Stanford University, I forwarded a vision of a region filled with increasingly assertive and self-assured middle powers. From Indonesia to Vietnam and Thailand, the region is set to feature multiple trillion-dollar economies with relatively robust militaries—and a greater sense of themselves and their place in the world. Far from a rose-tinted worldview, however, I acknowledged increasing political polarization at home, growing economic inequality, and the disruptive power of climate change and artificial intelligence, which could upend some