The Economic Nationalism of Alejandro Lichauco

Abstract

Alejandro Lichauco, a nationalist economist and lawyer educated at Harvard, relentlessly waged a nationalist crusade in the 1950s.   Lichauco attributed the so-called "Philippine crisis" to the inexorably continued encroachment of the United States on the country's post-war economic affairs. Thus, the study examines Lichauco's economic nationalism from a historical standpoint and explains how he articulated its core principles in his writings. The researchers utilize Karl-Otto Apel's critical hermeneutics and historical method. By positing the concepts of nationalism as "power" and a "philosophy of power," Lichauco emphasized the paramount importance of economic sovereignty during a time of reinvigorated Filipino nationalism. He asserted that the power to formulate economic policies and determine the nation’s economic direction rests on the Filipino people. They should exercise complete control over the means of production and harness the country’s resources in their best interest. He advocated decolonization, heavy industrialization, nationalist industrialization, economic democratization, and economic planning.