Paradigm shift: The 'September Thesis' and rebirth of the 'Open' peasant mass movement in the era of neoliberal globalization in the Philippines

Nearly twenty years after his seminal study of the Huk Rebellion, Kerkvliet turned to look at ‘everyday politics’ in a Central Luzon village in the Philippines, questioning the conventional view of politics as limited to ‘certain behaviour that is clearly related to matters of governance for an entire society’ (Kerkvliet 1991: 9). According to the latter view, he noted that ‘[w]hat happens elsewhere is [considered] politically relevant only insofar as it affects or, as in organized protest or rebellion, challenges these society wide policies’ (ibid.). One implication is that ‘what goes on in, say, church organizations, labor unions, universities, corporations, or villages is not considered political unless it bears on elections, the government, or the ability of public officials and institutions to govern’ (ibid.). Another implication ‘is that politics is something optional. A person can jump into or out of the “political arena” ’ (ibid.). By contrast, he argued that ‘everyday politics’ entails ‘antagonism among people along class and status lines’ (ibid.: 15), which in turn often involves ‘contending claims about what constitutes a just use and distribution of resources’ (ibid.: 17).