A "Slideshow Book Review" and the third in my series on Lessons from Fiction. Introducing the Slideshow Book Review. Using Michael Arditti's novel The Breath of Night as a case study I conclude that there is a case for explicit intervention by the Church in poverty alleviation. The slideshow is also available on my personal webste.

1. Lessons from Fiction Part 3:
The role of institutions in alleviating poverty
A review of “The Breath of Night” by Michael Arditti

2. 2
Lessons from Fiction Part 3
My one liner: The Breath of
Night by Michael Arditti digs deep
into the Philippines, its culture,
people, and politics, to give us a
thorough examination of the
conscience and appetite of the
Church to help the poor and
disenfranchised through armed
struggle. A morality tale that sits
in the grey area between good
and evil.
The five pillars of society in the novel:
• The Elite (represented by the
Hacienda Landowner (“Haciendo”)
• The Government (spanning both
the Marcos and Aquino eras)
• The Masses (represented by the
tenants working the hacienda land)
• The Church (a source of Hope and
Pastoral Care to the masses)
• The New People’s Army (NPA),
communist freedom fighters

3. 3
What’s the plot of the novel ? 2 protagonists…
Julian Tremayne (70s & 80s)…
• A Catholic priest of mid-ranking
English aristocratic blood
• Takes a post as a parish priest in
the Philippines in the 1970s
• Initially plays the expected role,
providing pastoral care, food
and shelter to the needy
• Over time becomes closer to the
NPA and possibly even a
member
• Feels that the Church should
actively engage in freedom
struggle
• Murdered in 1989
Phillip Seward (present day)...
• Young out-of-work Art Historian
• Has an emotional connection to
Julian’s niece Isabel and her
husband Hugh
• Isabel was particularly close to
Julian, and she persuades Hugh
to bankroll a trip by Phillip to the
Philippines
• To prepare a report on the slow
progress being made by the
Church in having Julian declared
a saint
• Uncovers more than he
bargained for…

4. 4
Our lesson: The Tenant’s Dilemma
So, let’s assume the following:
• A tenant household of 5 people
earning a total of $7,200 per year for
4 months’ harvest (based on 2011
GDP per capita)
• Monthly household expenses of $300
per month ($2 per person per day)
• Tenant pays 45% of output to
landlord
• This leaves the household with $360
savings at the end of the year or
$4,320 at the end of 12 years
“The share tenant is vulnerable
to the proportion of his harvest
due to the landlord, and the
leasehold tenant to a fixed rent
that takes no account of the all
too frequent crop failures”

5. 5
The wealth of the household evolves like this…
The landlord is dispensing Hope to the family that they can save for a better life.
But, as we know, crop failures are very likely over a 12-year period…

6. 6
1 Total Crop Failure during 12 years (75% chance?)
The household has to borrow to keep afloat – probably at interest rates of
around 50% pa. So probably the most likely outcome is a downward debt spiral

7. 7
How about paying a fixed rent say $300/month ?
Even better than paying a share of output. The Household saves $7,200 after
12 years. But look what happens when the crop fails…

8. 8
Terrible. They end up $15k in debt after 12 years
Why ? Because they have to pay the fixed rent rather than share of output
even when the crop fails, so the initial debt is enormous. Destitution beckons

9. 9
Should the Church side with the NPA guerillas ?
Yes…
“Poverty and oppression endanger
the soul [of the rich] along with the
body [of the poor]. A woman whose
children are starving may break the
seventh commandment, just as a
man driven mad by tyranny and
injustice may break the fifth. So as a
priest, I’m obliged to concern myself
with the here and now as much as
the hereafter; indeed, the two are
inexplicably linked. If a priest is to
stand in the person of Christ, he
can’t avoid being political.”
No...
“I think that’s what Julian objected
to. He didn’t want a world that was
split into masters and servants. No,
he and his friends wanted
revolution. They were terrorists,
even if they had no guns – and
believe me, there are many who
swear that they did. Suppose they
had succeeded, what then ? They
get rid of Marcos and end up with
Mao or Pol Pot. Do you think the
people would have been happier
with that ?”

10. 10
I think economic assistance is more effective…
Look what happens if the Church can lend to the tenant at 8% pa. Within a few
years he is back on his feet. Now that would be a way to dispense real Hope…

11. 11
And it’s what the “competition” does already…
“Don Florante is reputed to be one of the more enlightened landlords. He takes
a paternal interest in his tenants, advancing them money for seeds and tools,
selling them cheap rice during droughts, and standing as godfather to their
children (which, here, involves far more than remembering them at Christmas
and birthdays)”
And it works…
“The farmers have a sense of indebtedness that goes way beyond indenture.
They feel an almost mystical bond to the haciendos”

12. Thank you
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