Globalisierung, Soziokulturen und Sozialstruktur. Einige Konsequenzen aus der Anwendung von Bourdieus Sozialtheorie in Südostasien

Abstract

The paper summarizes a few consequences to be drawn after applying Pierre Bourdieu's social theory to Laos. A small country of the Asian periphery, which is transformed by processes of globalization, seems very remote from Bourdieu's work. Hence, an application of his theory to Laos does call for a revision of its concepts and claims. With regard to Laos, the frame of the nation state, the uniformity of society, the economism and the identification of culture and structure inherent in Bourdieu's theory cannot be upheld. The paper argues that these shortcomings are not only relevant for Southeast Asia but for a contemporary, globalizing world. Thus, a confrontation of Bourdieu's theory with Laos may lead to consequences that are useful for a globalized sociology. The paper claims that classical sociology is valid merely for a limited historical and geographical setting. In consequence, it argues for a >configurational dialectic< with concepts such as the division of work (not labour), social structure and socioculture at its core.