Society in Contemporary Laos - 9780415342193

Taylor & Francis

Society in Contemporary LaosCapitalism, Habitus and Belief\nAuthor(s): Boike Rehbein\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780415342193, 978-0415342193\nSynopsis\nOver the past decade, Laos exposure to global capitalism has resulted in extensive economic and social transformations. Precapitalist social structures both persist and are transformed into a particular configuration of classes. This entails increasing social inequality, a widening range of habitus and new forms of ethos.\n\nThis book pursues the theoretical aim of shedding light on the old question raised by Max Weber about the relation between capitalism, ethos and society. The empirical study consists of a description of the social structures, their embodiment in the habitus and world-views in Laos against the background of a critical revision of Pierre Bourdieus sociology. To achieve these aims, the author develops a qualitative methodology as neither Weber.