Kinship Ties and Social Networks: Politics of Kinship

ORGANIZATION IN SOCIETY

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 explain the concept of politics of kinship;

 discuss how politics of kinship affect the functions of society to people; and
 recognize the existence of issues arising from the politics of kinship.
 What caused the existence of politics of kinship?
 Is politics of kinship an advantage or disadvantage?
 How does politics of kinship affect the society?

Review!
Kinship Ties and Social Networks
 Kinship is a system of a culture of recognized family roles and relationships that
define the rights, obligations, and boundaries of an interaction of the members of
a self-recognizing group.
 Kinship (and family) ties may be determined by genetic relationships, adoption,
or other ritualized behavior such as marriage and household economies.
 Kinship systems range in size from a single, nuclear-family to tribal or intertribal
relationships.
 A social network is a social structure comprised of individuals joined by a
particular pattern of links or relations. Social networks are indicative of a person
or an organization's relations, membership, links, and connections. It is
noteworthy that these systems serve a role in the attainment of the goals of
society.
 Through networks serving as media for the spread and exchange of ideas,
people get connected, updated, and aware. Aside from that, social networks act
as social support, which provides people information and guidance in times of
need.

Learn about it!

Politics of Kinship
 “Blood is thicker than water” and the same applies to politics. It is said
that kinship is the primary source of political support and action in small or
even bigger societies.
 Kinship alliances are naturally formed and traditionally remain a power bearer
that dominates Filipino culture.
 An explanation for this phenomenon would be the family orientation of the
Filipinos. For some reason, the obligation to one's kinship group compels one to
prioritize his/her family against the rest of the society. This, from time
immemorial, has generated issues in the power allocation in our community.
 Topics include political dynasty, padrino system, and the use of political power to
build business empires or personal gains.
Concepts of Power in Filipino Kinship Politics
Ideally, merit is the top qualification for any position of consideration, particularly in the
politics. But certain circumstances resulting from the interplay of Filipino values, family,
and power has influenced codes of honor on selection processes.

Here's a list of some of Filipino values which have affected the way we make decisions
and view power.
Issues Concerning the Politics of Kinship
Kinship means family, which could mean the “world” to some people. Without a doubt,
we place family first on our list of priorities. And there is nothing wrong with that so long
as you don't put the public interest at stake.

Here's a list of issues concerning the politics of kinship.

Explore!
What are the positive and negative effects of politics created by kinship?
How does kinship affect the power allocation in the Filipino society?

Try it!
Write at least one situation or encounter which show Filipino values enumerated below.

 Debt of gratitude (Utang na Loob)

 Shame (Hiya)
 The act of yielding to the majority of the kin group (Pakikisama)
 Competition for the great status (Palakasan)
What do you think?
Is it possible for the Philippine society to eliminate the bad politics created by kinship?

Keypoints
 Kinship is a system of a culture of recognized family roles and relationships that
define the rights, obligations, and boundaries of an interaction of the members of
a self-recognizing group.
 A social network is a social structure comprised of individuals joined by a
particular pattern of links or relations.
 Political dynasty is the concentration, consolidation, or continuation of public
office and political power by persons related to each other.
 Alliance is a relationship between people, groups, or states that have joined for
mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit
agreement has been worked out among them.
 Padrino system is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring
relatives or friends.
 Political activism is the way people participate or get involved in various political
processes to promote, impend, and raise awareness of an issue.
 Utang na loob is a technique of reciprocity of debt of gratitude to others within
the family circle or primary group.
 Hiya is the inability to say "no" to offers for the fear of what others will think, say,
and do.
 Pakikisama is characterized by togetherness and allegiance to your group with a
concern for what other feels.
 Palakasan is a system wherein those in power compete to obtain special
privileges and exemptions from regulations by bending the rules of law for their
kinship group.