Material progress of the global economy is inevitable. But the way and the kind of industrialization and therefore of economic development mechanisms employed by the present regimes is still inadequate to address the problems and realities of the global economy involving the situation of the indigenous people, the youth sector, and the majority of the population still marginalized by the prevailing social structures. Associated with this kind of economic progress is the worsening of the state of the environment leading to the multifaceted issues of an impending limitation of the capacity of the global resources to address the poverty of countries and the imbalances and the inequitable distribution of wealth among societies. Indeed, there is a considerable concern mounting from the shortcomings of the micro- and macro- theories to resolve crises arising from the present-day economy which has now shifted its concern to the new paradigm called Sustainability; hence, the revolution of a new integral framework in economic analysis is eminent at present.
In the local perspective, the capitalist imperialism structure of the Philippine economy is characterized by an incremental economic expansion targeted only the few elite and middle classes institutionalizing the current economic order in our society at the expense of the poorest of the poor and of our environment. The present structure still rely on the tools provided by the fallacious doctrines of the Neoclassical and Keynesian systems and the shortcomings of these theories on the micro- and macroeconomics policies of the government. A scrutiny of the economic realities experienced by the Filipino society reflects the dichotomy of high-level GDP with the increasing poverty index and so similarly this leads to the assessment of the dualism of interests existing as the underlying principle of the social and economic programs pursued by a government of pro-corporation relationship than being pro-poor. Furthermore, the alliance of government with the few wealthy class and foreign interests encourages the economic dependency on the market mechanisms that has chained the poor in their conditions and subsequently undermined ecological as well as cultural balance.
The Philippine economy still depends on the laissez-faire philosophy and committed itself to trade and investment liberalization economic policies as well as establishing a debt economy as the engine of growth which is in reality detrimental to efforts of the government itself to mitigate the current environmental crisis and the alleviation of poverty that is directed for the betterment of the standards and quality of the means of living of the society. Contrary to the established orthodoxy of the social structures prevalent in the overall organization of the Filipino society that is of neoliberal orientation, the need for Integral economics as an option is already on the brink putting on its forefront the promise of economic expansion that incorporates environmental protection policies and an equitable distribution of wealth among the various orders of the society. It is centred on the domestic economy thus the realization of a true nationalistic industrialization and self-determination of the Filipino society as a sovereign nation-state whereas the destiny of our people is in our hands ourselves. Thus, sustainable development encourages protectionist economics against the exploitative side of the globalization of societies. Our society must be the one who benefits not the society of others. This is the contradiction present in the implementation of economic strategies such as the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) adopting the belief that foreign investment e.g. on mining is beneficial for the economy. If truth be told, this kind of an investment-driven economy is negative and unfavourable to the common interests of the society because it favours only a one-sided advantage detriment to our own environment and cultural concern. While our ties with institutions as the WB, IMF and ADB to name a few is also exploitative and unfair on its demands forcing the government to implement programs that remove the leadership of our domestic economy.
Sustainable development as the new paradigm plays a significant role in alleviating the many problems and challenges faced by the state of the global economy nowadays. This accounts to the abandonment of the defects of the Neoclassical (micro) and Keynesian (macro) economics. The current state of affairs of the global economy is confronted with the issue of the deterioration of the environment and the phenomenon of Climate Change. Integral economics drives a sense of emergence as the hope that will bring forth the true social transformation and vision of economic growth for the betterment of man’s life.
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