ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the layers of social structure that persist in contemporary Lao society as well as the impact of the colonial transformation, the independence movement and the capitalist transformation. It focuses on the relation between capitalist classes and precapitalist structures. The chapter also traces the way in which citizens of Laos are entering the capitalist culture and social structure. It studies habitus groups in Laos, which differ from habitus groups in a country like Germany, as they are rooted in different historical periods or social structures. The chapter demonstrates how capitalist transformation leads to the emergence of classes, using Laos as a case study. Laos has been composed of a complex mosaic of ethnolinguistic groups, forms of life, environmental conditions and power relations for many centuries. The baan-muang is a social structure that creates a hierarchy of social groups. In principle, the social position is hereditary and does not change in the course of one's life.
