ABSTRACT
The Burmese were effectively denied the benefits of economic growth and relegated to a rural role. Under pressure from the growing rice-export economy and expanding credit systems with which they had no experience and could not cope, they became disenfranchised from much of the land in Lower Burma. The nationalist struggle toward a new social and political order that would alleviate the evils of the exploitive system under which the Burmese labored found support in Buddhism and an ally in its sangha. However, the conversion of Burma from a laissez-faire colonial economy into an industrialized socialist one would require extensive state funds, considerable administrative skills, and a widespread infrastructure. The Burmese past was evoked to treat the future. It could justify and legitimate behavior. Modern Burmese political, economic, and administrative systems also seemed patterned after precolonial Burmese models, some no doubt intentionally, others probably unconsciously. The present political system is reminiscent of many aspects of traditional Burma.
