Thursday, November 22, 2007

A two-capita snake

An eye-catching statement the military government declared after its auto-coup was that they were now driving Burma on the road to capitalism. The economics would no longer be a closed door and now Burma was on the track of the market economy. Hopefully, after this East Asian model of capitalism, Democracy could be the next step. Economics could probably be much more matter than politics.

Twenty six years ago, no sooner Burma’s determination for the road to socialism was proclaimed, Indian business men were forced to return home and Chinese also lost their mills and private firms in nationalization process. However, not very soon, Chinese without being trammeled by cunning Indian people revived and was able to control the power of Burma market eventually in this closed-door country. After 1988, with the proclamation of The Burma way to capitalism, the epicenter of Burma market has briskly moved back from Chinese to the hands of native people, but the people with green trousers.

The native trouser people also have two kinds of races: one race was from the blue green Kokang mountains, the Wa people who were the tycoons of opium and morphine in the golden triangle of South East Asia. The King of opium, Khun Sar was now dubbed as the peace architect for the country and he and his colleagues could now enjoy the benefits of free market while they were still able to hold the guns and rule their own army. Another trouser group was the Big Brother and his comrades of the domineering army, of course the original Tibeto-Burman group of the Pagan empire themselves, who had got free shares of businesses from the former. Once nominated as the enemies of the state, now the big cheese of opium, were the investors and bankers rising as Big Friends to Big Brother and Burma became a paradise of economic prosperity for the trouser people.

In 2006, the military claimed to the world that the Burma’s road to capitalism under his leadership was stupendously successful. They had the proof to testify that they didn’t lie to the world as the GDP in Burma was 500 million in 1987 and now it had become 6 billion in 2006. The improvement in Burma GDP under capitalism is not a canard but in contemporary Burma, at least one third of the children in the country are malnourished, 75% of the people are below the poverty line and to my knowledge, there are many graduates who were competing one another to get a job to be awarded a salary of less than one US$ per day. Why Adam Smith’s hand of self-interest has never spontaneously pushed forward for the public interest in the Burmese society?

Amartya Sen in his Development as Freedom said the affluence of the society should be measured in terms of freedom rather than measuring the GDP. Burma was good exemplary for his argument. Under the Burma’s road to capitalism, people were like the small tiny head of the two-capita snake. The big head always got the food first without sharing a sufficient amount of food to the small tiny head, becoming bigger and bigger while the small tiny head, from underfeeding became frailer and frailer. Nevertheless, the arrogant big head claimed how strong and beefy he was but without noticing his counterpart would at last poisoned himself at the final day of no more toleration and brought the knell of “State failure” to him.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

should italicize
development as freedom
Be sure about the use of articles

Chan

Anonymous said...

Any way, in this 2007, the trouser people headed on with the "Sari people" and they will continue to head on the whole world.

Bowing to Orange Revolution
Thiri

Anonymous said...

Hi Burmakin,

You are good in pointing out what to do. But the real matter and more complicated issue is how to do than what to do.

Best wishes for imprisoned society,
Yakp

Anonymous said...

Dear Ko(Ma)Burmakin,

I am confused that you say Tibeto-Burman.I was taught in History (but this is my myanmar education) that we are from Takaung that was established by the exile Chakitiya (India Caste the same as Buddha).

In our British revolutionary songs,it was sung like " Be proud, we Burmese are the same original Chakitiya as Buddha is, our honor will be abiding". Could you have evidence for saying that we are Tibetan rather than Chakitiya of India?

Or if possible, could you also explain how the other ethnic groups
differ from Burmese in origin.If more possible, please send a post for why there is the difference between "Myanmar" and "Bamar".I asked those questions to many people and nobody can definitely explain. Maybe because I can't come outside myanma.

Thanks, I enjoy your site very much!
A student from myanmar

Anonymous said...

Sure, we are Tibeto-Burman.Our Burmese language is actually Sino-Tibetan language.If you have a chance to travel outside Burma,you will see that Tibetans are absolutely similar to Burmese in appearance,language and natural psychology.Remember that the history taught in Myanmar is a also a sham like the National Convention.

The content in revolutionary British songs are also an illusion of Burmese,a consequence of an attempt of Burmese ancient monarchs to reinstate themselves as "Would-be-Buddhas" and to relate to purity of Buddha's bloodline.Ne Win also had attempted to relate himself to royal bloodline of Pyi history.Human nature of dictators in history is repeated again and again.

Any way, I hope Burmakin will write more more specifically for this issue.

Teacher

Anonymous said...

hi mg,

are u sure that the burmese language is sino-tibet. i've traveled to almost all areas of southern burma.i found that the burmese alphabets are the same as the mon alphabets apart from the fact that we burmese have 33 in total but the mons have 36 in total.

Anonymous said...

If you ever travel to north west burma,you will see Rakine (Arakhan) people are also saying the same language as burmese are.Is Arakhans are also the same origin as Burmans?

Ma Khine

Anonymous said...

cheer...

Anonymous said...

For naing,
Burmese alphabet is taken and invented by using Mon alphabet. Last time, Burmese did not have a written language and was invented by pruning Mon alphabet and adopted very quickly, I think, 500~600 years ago. That is why you saw Mon alphabet and Myanmar alphabet are similar.

Anonymous said...

Hello Ma Khine,

The reason why we modern arakhans are speaking the same sino-tibetan language as Burmans is an unraveled mystery.There is no research for this topic and the duty can be left to our young children if Arakanese people are free from Burma.

My personal opinion on that matter is the Tibeto-Burman King, Kyan Sitt Tha was half-blooded in Arakhan. Due to growth of commerce between Tibetans and Arakans,our ancestry could probably learn this sino-tibetan language for convenience in dealership and also for the harmony with Burmese.One thing for sure is around 628 AD, the Tibeto-Burman's capital, Srishetra had established commercial connections with Akyab port on our Arakhan coast.

According to our Arakan own history,we can even date back 3500 years before Buddha appeared.
The stupor Maha Myat Muni of Mandalay that Burmans honored very much was from his holy live reward of Buddha to our Chandra-Suria King of the Arakhan Kingdom.According to this history,we can also claim that we were the earliest Buddhists in South East Asia and even earlier than the Mon-Talaing inhabitants in Southern Burma or Khmers of the Cambodia empire.

Up to 1784, Arakhans has never fallen under Burmans and absolutely an independent sovereign state.The man of 20th century in Burma that the historian, Dr Than Htun nominated is actually the robber of our Arakhan State.

We are fully eligible for claiming our sovereignty back from Burmans who were just migrants in this country and later robbed our kingdoms from we natives.

I don't believe Arakans are of the same origin as Burmese according to
the chronological order of Burmese migratory routes.Tibeto-Burmans tribes have scarcely lived 1000 years in this land.We have lived here from 6000 years.

Truth must be revealed,
U Thamanya

Anonymous said...

Marvelous,U TMN!!

But I don't understand what you mean by 20th century man of Dr Than Tun as the robber of Arakan kingdom in 1784.

Notwithstanding I thank you for pointing out who is the real robber in Burma.

Teacher

Anonymous said...

Sorry for my tongue slip.

Replace "the man of millennium" in place of "20th century man".Dr Than Tun nominated the man of millennium as " Bo Taw Maung Wine" and the 20th century man as the "Shin Zanaka Beetwonta" of the Amarapura Monastery of Taung Myo.I misplaced two people and like to apologize for my mistake.

Arakhan was annexed by Maung Wine in 1784.He was the same person who tried to kill honorable Bow Bow Aung.

Thank MG for asking,
U Tamanya

Anonymous said...

Dear UTMN,

What are the reasons for nominating these people for titles of the man of Millennium and the man of 20th century.

Teacher

Anonymous said...

Dear UTMN,

I am quite apprehensive to hear from you:you stated Burma millennium man is U Wine and man of Burma for last century as Venerable Janaka Vivonta.

Why Dr Than Tun pick up these two persons? There are more outstanding persons than his candidates in our history.

For e.g. the millennium man can be King Anarwratha or Bayint Naung or Alaungpaya who ever organized Burma.

And the man of last century can be simply Gen. Aung San who was the national leader for independence of Burma.

Was he more biased to see the intelligence rather than their achievements? If so, I accept that Ven.Janaka was one of the highest intelligent monks in Burma but where we would keep aside super intelligent scholars like Ven.Visitta Sayataw(the first monk to hold all Buddha's scriptures), Lei Ti abbot who made Buddhism doctrines in an orderly fashion and raised up Burma as the leader of Theravada Buddhism,and Mahasei abbot who boosted up the vipassana practices in Burma.

If you can elaborate more on what you are speaking, I appreciate it.

Phone Myint