Deng Xiaoping's Cats, Economics, And His Great Leap Forward For Communist China

Happy Labor Day! Labor Day is usually associated with Kilusang Mayo Uno and what better way to "celebrate" it than by bringing up the father of Communist China's modernization, Deng Xiaoping's famous quote, "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white. What matters is that it catches mice." The same philosophy by the Chinese Communist leader. Deng practically succeeded in creating his own version of the Great Leap Forward. Deng soon told the USA in one of his trips, "China is open for business." Then Deng made the slogan that says, "To be poor is not communism (or socialism). To be rich is glorious."

Objections against foreign investments are to be expected. Some of the most common objections are saying, "BUT ONLY FOREIGNERS WILL GET RICH!" or "We will be invaded by foreigners and become slaves in our country!"They also propose to do the self-industrialization theory which is yet to be tested. The argument that the nation must first self-industrialize or develop itself before accepting foreign investment is nothing more than ignorance. The idea that foreign investments mean Filipinos will be slaves in their own country is ignorance. It's not as if foreign investors are allowed to do business without necessary permits and taxes even if they don't have a Filipino partner. Instead, foreign investors are bound to follow rules in the Philippines. If they pay taxes properly then they can stay. If they don't do anything illegal then they can stay. If they pay their Filipino landlords properly then they can stay. As long as they do business properly then THEY CAN STAY. They can continue to do business alongside local investors if they respect the terms and conditions they have as tenants of the Philippine government. 

How does Deng's black and white cat philosophy fit with foreign investments and Filipino investments? Deng's mentality was that it didn't matter if the business was Chinese or foreign - he only cared about if they could help progress China by providing employment, services, and revenues. Deng cared less if it was British steel or Chinese steel - all he cared about was that the steel was of good quality and it would help industrialize Communist China. All Deng cared about was that the steel (whether British or Chinese) would help China's industries prosper. Can you imagine if Deng still continued in Mao's self-industrialization program? China would be left behind and still be poorer than the Philippines. Instead, Deng's focus was making sure Communist China got business booming. All he cared more about was that there are businessmen whether they were Chinese or foreign.

The same can go for the Philippines or any country. Would it matter if the business was Filipino or foreign? What matters is that said business (whether Filipino or foreign) is legitimate, registered, paying taxes, providing jobs for Filipinos, and providing quality products and services for Filipinos. The same can also go for the Buy Local campaign. Does it matter if the buyer of local products is a Filipino or a foreigner? What matters more is that somebody bought local products to contribute to the local industry even if the buyer was a foreigner. A foreigner or foreign firm buying local products contributes to the local industry as much as the Filipino or Filipino firm buying local products. It's all about the availability of quality products and services over whether or not a business was Filipino or foreign.