McCoy, Alfred. (1994). An anarchy of families: state and family in the Philippines.

Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

McCoy, Alfred. (1994). An anarchy of families: state and family in the Philippines.
Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

The work of McCoy clearly emphasized that the scholarly landscape in Philippine
political science seemingly discarded the substantial influence of elite familial clans
in the politico-historical development of the state. There were four basic points that
were advanced by the author. First, he proffered that elite family oligarchies are
ultimately significant in shaping Philippine political history. Second, the interrelations between these elite families are also considerable in influencing the
political landscape in the Philippines. Third, as a result of these byzantine
relationships among these family networks, factionalism emerged in political
battlefield. More specifically, Mc Coy also explicated the prevalence of political
violence as exhibited in the stories about the Moncados, Dimaporos and the
Duranos- whereby it originated from the breakdown of central authority and the
emergence of guerilla movements that paved the way for the proliferation of arms
and private armies that subsequently introduced local warlordism. Such political
violence has been recurrent during elections, disputes on land and ethnic-related
issues or even business expansions in certain localities. He contended that the use
of political violence is crucial for an elite familys emergence to political and national
eminence. Fourth, there had been a synergistic interaction between rent-seeking
families and the weak Philippine state.

Among many other things, what makes the book interesting is its emphasis on three
key theoretical frameworks path dependency theory, bilateral kinship and patronclient relations. Such concepts are crucial in analyzing the historical-institutional
roots of the underdevelopment of the Philippine state. The first construct highlights
the contradicting and destructive features of the Philippine state that can be traced
back from the Spanish and colonial rule, while the second refers to the practice of
elite families of expanding bilaterally (both from the mother and fathers lines) of
influence and power such that the lack of ideological foundations of such practice
created opportunities for corruption as these families conquer various key
components of the state. Finally, patron-client relations had been very much evident
in Philippine politics to the point of sacrificing public interest in favor of locally- and
nationally-based clients with selfish interests.

It may be noted, however, that McCoys sole emphasis on elite families as the
fundamental unit of analyzing the development of the state seems to be misguided,

not to say narrow-minded; not to mention that most of the stories included in the
compendium refer to individual member of families, but not necessarily
concentrating on the families that he wished to emphasized. As argued by Roces
(1994), the case of the Osmena familys rise to power and national prominence did
not depend on the employment of political violence and coercion, rather through its
reliance on the electoral machine and persuasive ideological appeals. Moreover,
though there is some truth on McCoys argument that the political
underdevelopment of the country can be attributed on the synergistic interaction
between rent-seeking families and the institutional weakness of the state
apparatus, his evidences that exhibit political violence are somehow isolated and
purely anecdotal in nature, such that a systematic study of the impacts of each elite
family under study in the inability of the state to be autonomous and the extent of
its influence in national politics, not to mention its trans-generational effects on
national political underdevelopment seem to be discarded.

An Anarchy of Families
State and Family in the Philippines
Edited by Alfred W. McCoy
With a new preface

New Perspectives in Southeast Asian Studies

Alfred W. McCoy, R. Anderson Sutton, Thongchai Winichakul, and Kenneth M. George, Series Editors

Rends the canopy of civility and culture surrounding the ruling

families of the Philippines, revealing long histories of opportunism and
violence.
Patricio Abinales, Kyoto University
Winner of the Philippine National Book Award, this pioneering volume reveals
how the power of Filipino family-based oligarchies both derives from and
contributes to a weak, corrupt state. From provincial warlords to modern
managers, prominent Philippine leaders have fused family, politics, and
business to subvert public institutions and amass private wealthan historic
pattern that continues to the present day.
Edited by Alfred W. McCoy, An Anarchy of Familiesexplores the pervasive
influence of the modern dynasties that have led the Philippines during the past
century. From the Osmeas to the Lopezes and Pardo de Taveras, elite
Filipino families have acted as formidable coalitions controlling capital,
dominating national politics, and deploying paramilitary force. Beyond Manila,

strong men such as Ramon Durano, Ali Dimaporo, and Justiniano Montano
have used guns, goons, and gold to accumulate wealth and power in farflung islands and provinces.
Alfred W. McCoy is J. R.W. Smail Professor of History at the
University of WisconsinMadison. His books includeThe
Politics of Heroin and A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation
from the Cold War to the War on Terror.
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