Disaster Capitalism: It's Business As Usual

Reference to Inquirer news

"Rehab czar Lacson to count on private sector"

Well, good luck, Ping! Good luck to us all! 

Source: Inquirer

I could sense the danger of this neoliberal, private sector-led rehabilitation and reconstruction program in typhoon-hit areas. If this is not contested through people's vigilance and collective action, nasty aspects of 'disaster capitalism' might be unleashed. Central to this are massive 'land-grabs' by the wealthy with the support of canny lawyers, leading to more displacements and dispossessions of people from their lands and from their rights.

Lacson's planned team composition of 'an executive director ..., a lawyer, a financial expert, a civil engineer and an architect', combined with his desire to be given free rein to work independently immune from people's active involvement (meaning, real democratisation not just 'participation' or 'consultation') and public scrutiny (meaning, democratic accountability which is not simply the 'right to air criticism'), is telling of the agenda for disaster capitalism.

The job, of course, won't be easy. Even from the point of view of business, post-disaster reconstruction is too risky. Key issues to factor in are the costly geographical location and the depressed market. No jobs, no incomes, no purchasing power, no money circulation. No consumption, thus no production. Here comes the classic 'problem of capital formation'! Basically, how to start and jump-start business activities and economic relations in a post-disaster condition?

In this situation, to reduce risks and avoid transaction costs, the clever strategy of the private sector will be to make the state (read: the Filipino people) the absorber and guarantor of business risks and market failures. 

With people's recent victory in the Supreme Court's final ruling of the unconstitutionality of the Priority Development Assistance Program (PDAF) which is expected to curb corruption in/of the government, we should not to be complacent to ignore the other side of corruption in/of the private sector's business and political dealings. 

Rehab czar Ping Lacson is straightforward in his vision: the state will be an 'enabler' of private sector-led accumulation drive by tolerating and favouring businessmen's rent-seeking behaviour and activities. But, remember, he never promised it won't be business as usual!