The Burma Road to the Past

Abstract

Burma is a traditional society, one where of behavior continue with little change from generation to generation.'1 Other characteristics of such a society include authoritarianism, ascriptiveness, personalism, fractionalism, somewhat loosely structured social units,2 and low economic productivity. The persistence of these characteristics may be thought of as the result of a process of resistance to sociocultural change and economic development by both the elite and the folk alike. This is not to suggest that there have not been any changes in the evolution of Burmese society but rather to assert that the changes have not been substantive enough to alter the ways of behavior for modernization. In the case of Burma, a host of factors have kept the society from accomplishing the required transformations of its traditional social system, among which the personality, policy, and value-orientation of the tradition-bound, nationalist political leadership have stood out as the most conspicuous. Equally responsible for the present state of social inertia and political stagnation on the road to modernization is the subservient simple folk's acceptance of rule by the will of the elite. Despite the constant strife and disorder among the power-seekers and various social groups, the most outstanding aspect of the traditional Burmese social system has been the continuation of authoritarianism for millennia on personal, familial, and societal levels. The basic issue of cultural change and