Lessons from Fiction Part 3:The role of institutions in alleviating poverty

A review of “The Breath of Night” by Michael Arditti

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Lessons from Fiction Part 3

My one liner: The Breath of Night by Michael Arditti digs deep into the Philippines, its culture, people, and politics, to give us a thorough examination of the conscience and appetite of the Church to help the poor and disenfranchised through armed struggle. A morality tale that sits in the grey area between good and evil.

The five pillars of society in the novel:

• The Elite (represented by the Hacienda Landowner (“Haciendo”)

• The Government (spanning both the Marcos and Aquino eras)

• The Masses (represented by the tenants working the hacienda land)

• The Church (a source of Hope and Pastoral Care to the masses)

• The New People’s Army (NPA), communist freedom fighters

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What’s the plot of the novel ? 2 protagonists…

Julian Tremayne (70s & 80s)…• A Catholic priest of mid-ranking

English aristocratic blood• Takes a post as a parish priest in

the Philippines in the 1970s• Initially plays the expected role,

providing pastoral care, food and shelter to the needy

• Over time becomes closer to the NPA and possibly even a member

• Feels that the Church should actively engage in freedom struggle

• Murdered in 1989

Phillip Seward (present day)...• Young out-of-work Art Historian• Has an emotional connection to

Julian’s niece Isabel and her husband Hugh

• Isabel was particularly close to Julian, and she persuades Hugh to bankroll a trip by Phillip to the Philippines

• To prepare a report on the slow progress being made by the Church in having Julian declared a saint

• Uncovers more than he bargained for…

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Our lesson: The Tenant’s Dilemma

So, let’s assume the following:

• A tenant household of 5 people earning a total of $7,200 per year for 4 months’ harvest (based on 2011 GDP per capita)

• Monthly household expenses of $300 per month ($2 per person per day)

• Tenant pays 45% of output to landlord

• This leaves the household with $360 savings at the end of the year or $4,320 at the end of 12 years

“The share tenant is vulnerable to the proportion of his harvest due to the landlord, and the leasehold tenant to a fixed rent that takes no account of the all too frequent crop failures”

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The wealth of the household evolves like this…

The landlord is dispensing Hope to the family that they can save for a better life. But, as we know, crop failures are very likely over a 12-year period…

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1 Total Crop Failure during 12 years (75% chance?)

The household has to borrow to keep afloat – probably at interest rates of around 50% pa. So probably the most likely outcome is a downward debt spiral

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How about paying a fixed rent say $300/month ?

Even better than paying a share of output. The Household saves $7,200 after 12 years. But look what happens when the crop fails…

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Terrible. They end up $15k in debt after 12 years

Why ? Because they have to pay the fixed rent rather than share of output even when the crop fails, so the initial debt is enormous. Destitution beckons

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Should the Church side with the NPA guerillas ?

Yes…“Poverty and oppression endanger the soul [of the rich] along with the body [of the poor]. A woman whose children are starving may break the seventh commandment, just as a man driven mad by tyranny and injustice may break the fifth. So as a priest, I’m obliged to concern myself with the here and now as much as the hereafter; indeed, the two are inexplicably linked. If a priest is to stand in the person of Christ, he can’t avoid being political.”

No...“I think that’s what Julian objected to. He didn’t want a world that was split into masters and servants. No, he and his friends wanted revolution. They were terrorists, even if they had no guns – and believe me, there are many who swear that they did. Suppose they had succeeded, what then ? They get rid of Marcos and end up with Mao or Pol Pot. Do you think the people would have been happier with that ?”

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I think economic assistance is more effective…

Look what happens if the Church can lend to the tenant at 8% pa. Within a few years he is back on his feet. Now that would be a way to dispense real Hope…

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And it’s what the “competition” does already…

“Don Florante is reputed to be one of the more enlightened landlords. He takes a paternal interest in his tenants, advancing them money for seeds and tools, selling them cheap rice during droughts, and standing as godfather to their children (which, here, involves far more than remembering them at Christmas and birthdays)”

And it works…

“The farmers have a sense of indebtedness that goes way beyond indenture. They feel an almost mystical bond to the haciendos”

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