Culture And Privilege In Capitalist Asia

This book is about how the new rich in Asia have been changing the culture and how they have been able to succeed in the capitalist world. The book includes case studies from different countries in Asia, and it shows that the new rich are often in tension with other groups in society.

The new rich of Asia have played a crucial role in the social and economic transformation of the region. Yet they are also a focal point for the cultural restructuring of national, ethnic, religious and class identities in Asia. In this volume in the New Rich in Asia series the authors examine the cultural reconfiguration, consumer behaviour, economic success and cultural status of the new rich. The book includes case studies from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, India and China that challenge the narrow political-economic and cultural-determinist approaches that have so far dominated the literature on capitalist development in Asia. The text shows that the cultural reconfiguration of domestic and international relations around Asia's new rich has often been characterized by tension and division, and by an elevated status for the new rich themselves and the societies in which they live and work. While the new rich are celebrated in some quarters, they are reviled in others.