Social democracy and a life of human dignity for all

The recent news that the Philippines, together with Vietnam, according to the World Bank, has changed its economic category from a low-middle income class nation to a high-middle income class.

- ELFREN S. CRUZ

The other Southeast Asian countries which are of the upper-middle income class prior to our country joining this classification are Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.

While this promotion to a higher classification has been received favorably by economists and businessmen, the more common response by other sectors is to ask the question why it has not been felt by most Filipinos.

This phenomenon of countries experiencing high economic growth but the quality of life has not really improved among the vast majority of its population. Income inequality persists and most of the population do not live a life of human dignity. I remember a statement by Mahatma Gandhi: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

There are different ways by which nations and its people have tried to remedy this inequality. Unfortunately, some societies see the growth of populism resulting in the rise of authoritarian leaders who attract popularity by attacking the rich.

There are two ideologies which have proven relatively successful in other countries in their quest for drastically reducing income inequality and allowing its population an opportunity to live a life of human dignity.