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 Takes Part in Socialism in Asia Conference

Details

Professor Eduardo Tadem of the Asian Center delivered the opening remarks and presented a paper at a conference, “The Asian Century: For a Socialist Alternative in the Region” which was held from 28 to 29 November 2014 at the College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines Diliman.

Part of the panel, “The Agrarian Question for the Asian Century: Issues and Socialist Strategies,” Professor Tadem highlighted the limitations of Philippine agrarian reform laws, which are confined within notions of individual private ownership of land and are oriented to market forces. He proposed socialist agrarian reform as the only viable solution based on the fundamental principles of political and economic empowerment. However, he also stressed that various forms of this project would have to be tried out as there is no single model of socialist agrarian reform. The key is to preserve the principles of smallholder farming and entrepreneurship and to implement this at the local level.

The international conference aims to respond to the questions that plague the 21st century and critique the relevance of the dominant neoliberal economic and political frameworks that govern most of the countries in Asia today, particularly in Southeast Asia. The conference also examines how socialism remains the viable alternative in addressing these capitalism-induced problems. Key scholars and activists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Venezuela, and South Africa shared their experiences and insights on these issues. 

Professor Tadem teaches graduate-level courses, Theories and Perspectives in Area Studies (AS210), Social and Economic Development in Southeast Asia (AS255.1), and Agrarian Development and the Peasantry in Asia (AS204), among others, at the Asian Center. He obtained his PhD in Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore. His research interests include rural development, agrarian reform and the peasantry, ASEAN regional (dis)integration, official development assistance and international political economy in Southeast Asia.