Overview

The Bobotante Fallacy dismantles the prevailing myth that poor, undereducated voters - pejoratively labeled bobotantes - are solely responsible for the Philippines' democratic dysfunction. Through historical analysis, political theory, and survey data, the book argues that this scapegoating narrative obscures deeper systemic failures: weak institutions, elite capture, patronage-driven politics, and an electoral system rigged against meaningful choice. Drawing from the insights of renowned scholars in political science, sociology, and democratic theory, the book critiques the moralized disdain of liberal elites, who often dismiss mass voters while overlooking their own complicity in perpetuating exclusionary systems. Rather than a symptom of mass ignorance, the persistence of populist victories and illiberal regimes reflects rational behavior within a broken system. Voters make choices based on survival, familiarity, and constrained agency - not blind loyalty or stupidity. The book also challenges abstention as a form of moral protest, arguing that disengagement enables elite dominance by default. Ultimately, The Bobotante Fallacy calls for a reframing of political discourse - from blame to accountability, from derision to structural reform. It urges a collective reckoning with how political exclusion is manufactured, and who benefits from its persistence. Only by rejecting the fallacy of the ""stupid voter"" can the country begin to imagine a more inclusive and functional democracy.

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