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Indolence: The Indolence of The Filipinoes, La Solidaridad, 15 July 1890

This document summarizes an article written by Jose Rizal critiquing the characterization of Filipinos as "indolent" by colonial powers. The summary argues that indolence is a term used by ruling elites to maintain power over subservient classes. When analyzing societal contexts in isolation, peasants work much harder than landowners. By the same logic, the colonizers were more indolent than the colonized, living decadently off the labor of those they dominated. In conclusion, any indolence in the Philippines at that time came from the colonizers, not the Filipino people.

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34 views1 page

Indolence: The Indolence of The Filipinoes, La Solidaridad, 15 July 1890

This document summarizes an article written by Jose Rizal critiquing the characterization of Filipinos as "indolent" by colonial powers. The summary argues that indolence is a term used by ruling elites to maintain power over subservient classes. When analyzing societal contexts in isolation, peasants work much harder than landowners. By the same logic, the colonizers were more indolent than the colonized, living decadently off the labor of those they dominated. In conclusion, any indolence in the Philippines at that time came from the colonizers, not the Filipino people.

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AngBaki
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Baybay, Jahziel V.

BSARCH 5-3 HIST 1023

INDOLENCE
The Indolence of the Filipinoes, La Solidaridad, 15 July 1890

Social Context
This article was written by Rizal when he was among the publication of La Solidaridad. This is a semantic
analysis of INDOLENCE as a trait characterized by the colonizers among the colonized. The article argued that
indolence is contextual to the environment that people live in primarily the climate and the social inequality
that between the colonizers and the colonized given that the ruling power had more social power, in this
casethe availability of education. From the article, Rizal would direct that indolence can be subverted if the
societal availability of education and that alone is sufficient.

As a counter argument, Rizal did not directly resolve the issue but was rather muddying it by his middle-class
sentiments. He did not argue the source or validity of indolence. As an analysis of societal context and
relativism, I would argue that indolence is an exploitative term used by the ruling elite over the dominion so as
to maintain control and power. In context of the subservient class, let us say in the context of the Philippines
at the time, the peasantry were looked down as indolent by the land-lord class but in isolation among the
peasantry alone, the peasants are far from being indolent. The peasants are more industrious than their
masters as they work more hours than the land-lords, the peasants are awake before the sun would rise, even
before the masters would wake.

Given the same arguments between the peasants and the land-lords, as we apply this logic to a higher degree
in a national social context, the colonizers are the epitome of indolence and not the colonized. The colonizers
are benefiting from the fruits of the colonized labors. The colonized are able to live their decadent lifestyle in
the expense of the colonized left living in underprivileged lives.

Conclusion
So look back, is there indolence in the Philippines? Yes, but not from the Filipinos, but rather from the
colonizers.

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