Lest I be accused of riding with the flow of scholars, I cannot say that Ben Anderson, who recently passed away in Indonesia at the age of 79, was a major influence in my work as a scholar. I have consciously deviated away from a most touchy and sensitive subject (i.e., nation-state formation and nationalism). Yet, his works, most notably The Imagined Communities, rose to significant importance by dissecting the origins of nationalism away from the Eurocentric models of nation-state formation. His scholarship cuts across disciplines including history, literature, philosophy, sociology, and even economics that his influence can be seen as unparalleled.
To be frank, I have not read Imagined Communities. I felt that I did not have to in my undergrad years and even during my graduate studies in history. I said to myself that I was not going to delve into the usual historiographical models of nation-state analysis because I have longed believed that nation-state is quite distant from the local experience. Nationalism can blind those who show much devotion for the nation by radicalizing, proselytizing, and even castigating anyone who does not believe in the great “imagined community”. I belong to the minority of historians who have not fully grasped the underpinnings of Anderson’s magnum opus.
But it did not mean that Anderson was of no influence to me. His significance was through one of his articles entitled, “Cacique Democracy in the Philippines: Origins and Dreams” (1988). I use this article frequently in class to describe the historical formation of nationalism while at the same time retaining the politico-social structures in the Philippines. “Cacique Democracy” uses the concept of caciques of Latin America in understanding the development of bossism relations in the Philippines, which in a way transcended the traditional patron-clientelist frameworks of older scholars. Through this article, I was able to understand the entrenchment of the provincial local bosses whose influence stretched from the smallest districts to the national politic. Even after the EDSA Revolution in 1986, the caciques resumed their businesses, connections, and workings in local and national bodies.
My mini encounter of Anderson’s radical piece revealed to me his dedication in his pursuit of knowledge. His scholarship was a type of dedication not all academics will be willing to embark. When he chose to write about controversial topics and not “safer” ones even at the risk of his own life and security, it displayed much dedication to academic integrity and fearlessness. At the time he wrote Cacique Democracy in 1988, the fall of the Marcos regime was still fresh and the Cojuangco-Aquino clan was making ground. I felt that this guy was insane to pursue such a topic. One would notice that in his article that it did not only criticized the rise of Marcos as the supreme cacique, Anderson presented the peculiarities of Philippine politics when it installed the Cojuangco-Aquino in office.
Ben Anderson had a different influence to me not in the way of Imagined Communities, to be sure. Through his other works, he showed to me the values of a true scholar: dedication, integrity, relentless. His attributes have paved the way for us younger scholars who yearn to make sense of the world clouded with so much information, prejudice, and silence.
