Is unity a pre-requisite to national progress?

National progress embodies socio-economic advancement, political stability, technological competitiveness

Okay, I think that advancement is possible by uniting people together via a strong government with discipline. Philippines used to be next to Japan when it comes to those terms you gave me but what happened? We became one of the lowest in the ranking in Asia. The reason for that is the discipline went away when the president became a dictator, and how the people reacted. When the country turned into dictatorship the disciplinary measures soared high(too much) and people rebelled and succeeded(throwing off dictatorship). So what does that tell you? The people of the Philippines then learned how they can overthrow the government using this movement called 'people power'. And with that power in mind they learned that they are above the law because they can overthrow the government. That is when the collapse of our nation began, when the people became more powerful(at least in their minds). If the people are more powerful than the government then the discipline of the nation is up to each and everyone of it's population not up to it's governing rulers. If the people just get the trust back to the government, and learned discipline again, then maybe one day we'll rise again. There should be a balance in the power of people and the government. This would be when the government and the people begin working together as you would call bayanihan. That is what I think.

Yes, unity is a goal, but it should not be a prerequisite for people to help the country progress. People don't have to come together and do something "big". I believe in individual citizen actions that make a difference.