Society in Contemporary Laos by Boike Rehbein

Author:Boike Rehbein [Rehbein, Boike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415342193
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

The characteristic of self-determination can be interpreted as the main distinction between upper and lower levels in the social hierarchy, whereas traditionalism and community orientation distinguish the baan-muang socioculture from capitalism. We have found the characteristic of self-determination, or autonomy, to be the marker of upper classes (and its absence to be the marker of lower classes) in Brazil and Germany as well (Rehbein et al. 2015). This may be a general attribute distinguishing upper from lower classes in capitalist societies. For this reason, it has been depicted on the y-axis in Figure 7.2. The horizontal characteristics, in contrast, are specific to Laos and rooted in the sociocultures. In principle, the characteristics on the left are linked to the baan-muang socioculture and the ones on the right to capitalism. Traditionalism and community orientation are core traits of the peasants, while discipline and self-orientation characterize capitalism.

We would have expected habitus groups to correspond to the sociocultural milieus and more differentiation of the capitalist habitus types. It seems unlikely that all Laotians should be reduced to four types, but we have to consider that almost everybody who was born between about 1965 and 1985 grew up as a peasant. This is even true for the majority of those born before and after. This entire group, certainly the majority of the population, can be reduced to one habitus type. A recent study of a village in northeastern Thailand has found that even in this environment only one habitus type seems to exist (Baumann 2016). Should we not expect a difference between the ethnolinguistic groups at least? Of course their forms of life are very diverse, but they share subsistence ethics and personal social structure as well as some principles of action, all of which are incorporated in the habitus. Apart from that, the differences between these groups disappear, at least in comparison to the differences between them and the new urban middle class. This is the point of the habitus construction.

Figure 7.2 Proximity and distance of habitus traits

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