Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Professor Ed Tadem Argues for Socialist Agrarian Reform at International Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Details

Professor Eduardo C. Tadem of the UP Asian Center presented a paper at the International Academic Conference on “Land Grabbing, Conflict and Agrarian-Environmental Transformations: Perspectives from East and Southeast Asia” which was held from 5 to 6 June 2015 in Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

In his paper, “Preliminary Notes on Socialist Alternatives for Philippine Agrarian Reform in the 21st Century," Dr. Tadem examines the fate of the Philippine agrarian reform law and its implementation over the last 27 years. He argues that such laws are constrained by market forces and by “existing property relations, that is individual private ownership of land.” The “only viable solution,” he explains, is a socialist agrarian reform that is “based on the fundamental principles of political and economic empowerment” of the peasantry and rural workers. Dr. Tadem, however, notes that there is no one-size-fits-all model of a socialist agrarian reform, which has to take various forms and must be implemented in different ways.

The conference was organized by the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague; University of Amsterdam; Chiang Mai University; and Beijing Agricultural University. Also present were noted agrarian studies scholars Henry Bernstein, Jun Borras, Ben White, Tania Li, Dominique Caouette, and Chayan Vaddhanaphuti. Photo: Dr. Eduardo Tadem in Chiang Mai University.

Professor Tadem specializes in rural development, agrarian reform, and the peasantry, among other topics. The editor in chief of Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, he handles graduate courses on Southeast Asia and on Theories and Perspectives in Asian Studies. His most recent publication is “Technocracy and the Peasantry: Martial Law Development Paradigms and Philippine Agrarian Reform,” 2015. Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol. 45. No.3.  Visit his faculty profile here.

The Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.