Critique of Philip Bowring's 'The Making of the Modern Philippines' as patronizing and naive

Philip Bowring's book 'The Making of the Modern Philippines' is criticized for its condescending tone and colonial perspective, despite drawing on Filipino research. The author, an English journalist born during World War II and former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, relies on works like Patricio Abinales and Donna Amoros's 'State and Society within the Philippines' (2017) and Luis Francia's 'A History of the Philippines' (2010), but omits key texts such as Richard Manapat's 'Some Are Smarter than Others' (1991). Bowring's thesis that the Philippines needs better infrastructure, honest government, and less dynastic politics is deemed obvious, while his handling of historical events, like Ferdinand Marcos's dictatorship, is faulted for downplaying human rights abuses. He compares Marcos's economic failures to autocrats like Indonesia's Suharto and South Korea's Park Chung-hee, but barely mentions the 3,257 murders under Marcos, contrasting them with Rodrigo Duterte's 12,000 killings. Published by Bloomsbury Academic at £20 in hardcover, the book is seen as lacking cultural precision and sympathy, with its armchair-research approach betraying naivete. The review, from ArtReview, highlights Bowring's white-savior complex and failure to engage seriously with Filipino perspectives, despite his background contributing to outlets like the South China Morning Post and Wall Street Journal.