Representations of development in 19~th and 20~th century Indonesia: A transport history perspective

摘要

Contemporary debate in Indonesia over'peoples'economy' and ' globalisation' recalls the vigorous 1950s debate over' dualism' Taking as a case study the rise and eclipse of railways, this paper argues that the colonial phenomenon of dualism can with hindsight be reinterpreted as a phase in a previous cycle of globalisation. However, economic history has overlooked the remarkable vitality of the small-scale transport sector. Focus on the small-scale sector highlights the inadequacies of familiar paradigms and suggests the need to reconceptualise long-term socioeconomic change. This analysis has important implications for responses to the current wave of globalisation and how they may be manifest in a more democratic post-Soeharto Indonesia.