The Evolutionist Anthropology of Ali Moertopo:Agency and Coercion in Developing aPancasila Society in Indonesia

Greg Acciaioli

Anthropology & Sociology

The University of Western Australia

<gregory.acciaiol@uwa.edu.au>

Anderson's PARADOXES OF NATIONALISM 1) Objective modernity vs.

subjective antiquity  2) Universality of occurrence vs.

unique content in each occurrence  3) Political power vs.

philosophical poverty

Requirements: Altered sense of memory New framework of time:

Homogeneous Empty Calendrical

Colonial institutions of power effectingshift of consciousness

CENSUSAbstract quantification/serialisation of persons

MAPInscription of political space

  MUSEUM

Genealogising of cultural history  Technology of print: Newspapers Novels History

What Anderson neglects: Sense of primordial origins demands a PREHISTORY

Anthropological account of cultural evolution from origins

Indonesia’s nationalist project

PANCASILA as national civic philosophy Monotheism Humanitarianism Indonesian Unity Leadership through consensus/representation Social Justice

Pancasila in academic disciplines PANCASILA Economics: Mubyarto

E.g. key role of cooperatives

PANCASILA Anthropology: R.M. Koentjaraningrat Cultural diversity supporting unity Developmentalist rationale: Raising isolated tribes to the same

status as the societies of other ethnic groups -- ‘to general societal standards of health, education and economic development set by the government’From suku terasing to suku-suku bangsayang diupayakan berkembang

 

PANCASILA Cultural Evolutionism: Ali Moertopo

Lieutenant General Ali Moertopo’s career as an arch-nationalist and imperialist Soldier in independence war Prominent role in ‘intelligence’ section of the armed forces

Opsus: Special Operations unit linked to the army Oversaw the ‘referendum’ of integration of Irian Jaya into Indonesia

‘Act of No Choice’ (George Aditjondro) Participation in the ‘Confrontation’ (Konfrontasi) with Malaysia

1974: Suspected of being the ‘pupper master’ (dalang) behind the violent Malari demonstrations against the visiting Japanese PM

1975: Promoted to chariman of the state intelligence coordinating body (BAKIN) Prominent role in 7 December 1975 invasion (Seroja campaign) of East Timor

Suharto’s personal assistant Honorary chairman of the board of directors (and co-founder) of the Centre

of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Chinese and Catholic think-tank of extreme statist-nationalist leaning

Member of the organising committee of GOLKAR Suharto’s government party One of the architects of the ‘Floating Mass’ concept: depoliticisation of rural masses

1978-1983: National Minister of Information Appointment to the Supreme Advisory Council

Ali Moertopo as public intellectual: Emphasis on the ‘strategic’ 1973: Basic Thoughts on the Acceleration and Modernisation of

25-Year Development (CSIS) Statist-nationalist economic policy based on modernisation

theory Two pillars to modernisation:

Guaranteed state security Improved standard of living for Indonesian nation

Social and cultural obstacles to needed economic growth rate Tightly controlled interaction with the outside world needed

State ideology to be applied ‘to every aspect of life, to every government institution and state organisation, as well as to all levels of urban and rural society’

Transformation of value system necessitated: ‘Modernisation thus entails changing those norms which are no longer functional, or which hinder change. Change should be comprehensive…This requires that the model of the Pancasila state be clarified and the principles of Pancasila applied to every aspect of life, to every government institution and state organisation, as well as to all levels of urban and rural society.’ Planned social and cultural change necessary

Strategies of Culture (Strategi Kebudayaan) [1978]

Pancasila as the teleological realisation of a process of cultural evolution that has characterised Indonesian society from its archaic or `antique' beginnings

BASIC CONCEPT in Moertopo's Framework Culture (Kebudayaan) as ‘[the process of] developing a

continual struggle in order to secure the victory of the process of humanisation and avoid the process of dehumanisation‘

Culture encompasses: mental attitudes, values for life, ways of thought, ways of working, logic aesthetics, ethics

Culture not a transcendental force (a la Kroeber) Power of human resource potentials: agency

Power of choice: strategising

Resonances of Moertopo’s concepts with New Order Culture as process of development (perkembangan) realised in

struggle (perjuangan) Fruition of spontaneous cultural development (perkembangan) in

New Order-guided Development (pembangunan)

Parallel to `national culture' in Indonesian Constitution (UUD): National culture as `heightening the degree of humanity of the Indonesian people' (mempertinggi derajat kemanusiaan bangsa Indonesia)

Idiom of war in term ‘Strategy Gr. stratos (troops) + Gr. agein (lead)

Active, transitive verbal forms: membudayakan (culturalise, make part of one's culture) Parallels to V. Gordon Childe and Leslie White (‘symboling’)

Aspects of understanding culture (I): Relational dimensions1) relations with one's fellow human beings

2) relations with surrounding natural world

3) relations with God

In its spontaneous development Indonesian culture emphasise 1) and 3)

Modern state in its ‘national resurgence’ bring an emphasis on 2)

Aspects of understanding culture (II): Universal Elements of Cultureaccording to Koentjaraningrat(following Kluckhohn (1953))

English version:

1) The religious system & religious ceremonies

2) The social system & organisation

3) The system of knowledge

4) Language

5) Art

6) The system of livelihood

7) The system of technology and equipment

Indonesian version:

1) Sistem religi dan upacara keagamaan

2) Sistem dan organisasi kemasyarakatan

3) Sistem pengetahuan

4) Bahasa

5) Kesenian

6) Sistem mata pencaharian hidup

7) Sistem teknologi dan peralatan

Aspects of understanding culture (III): Universal Elements of Culture according to Moertopo

1) the knowledge system (sistem pengetahuan)  2) the technological system (sistem teknologi)

3) the economic system (sistem ekonomi)  4) the social system (sistem kemasyarakatan)  5) the linguistic system (sistem bahasa)  6) the religious system (sistem religi) (SK: 12)

[7) the literature system (sistem sastra)]

Aspects of understanding culture (IV): The SUBJECT of culture

SUBJECT of cultural development: INDONESIAN NATION (BANGSA INDONESIA) Archipelagic Society (Masyarakat Nusantara) `Our land and Sea' (Tanah Air Kita)

  ‘Archipelagic design’ of local cultural evolution

Basic `AQUA CULTURE' (vs. `TERRA CULTURE' of other continents)

Aspects of understanding culture (V): The Task of Development (Pembangunan): Culturalisation

Task of Development: `culturalise (membudayakan) the Indonesian nation’s inherent aqua culture’ Intersection of trade routes--> Open Culture Potential for ACCULTURATION (Akulturasi)as strategic process

Acculturation: the process of intercultural exchange between two societies, involving persistent and

interpenetrative change and accommodation over a prolonged period of time. The term usually is applied to contact situations where one society possesses a more complex culture and dominates the intercultural process (Voget 1975: 861)

Complementarity with Enculturation (Enkulturasi) Creative refashioning of transferred cultural elements in local image (Contemporary parlance: localisation (vs. globalisation))

Akulturasi / Enkulturasi nexus insures priority of active human agency within refashioning culture

Stages of Cultural DevelopmentI Pre-historic period (Zaman pra-sejarah)

Radical discontinuity: Distinguished at highest level of contrast with all subsequent periods

II Ancient Indonesia (Indonesia Purba): Functional consistency of constituent elements

Knowledge about the natural world Indirect evidence through technology Sailing, Agriculture, etc.

 Technology

Subsume livelihood/economic system Farming, Animal Husbandry, Coinage, Defence (Bow & Arrow)

 Social System

Descent: Patrilineal, Matrilineal, Parental (=Cognatic?) Division of Labour Proto-democratic political system

Language and Literature Oral literature: aphorisms, poems, proverbs

Art Linked to religious expression Magic, Sacral observance

E.g. Wayang

Religious System Originary Monotheism: Prefiguration of 1st principle of PANCASILA:

`One Great God': Tuhan yang Maha Esa

Stages of Cultural DevelopmentEndogenous development of indigenous forms > acculturative subjection : Identity and agency of the ‘archipelagic subject’

ZAMAN PENGARUH HINDU Hinduisation of wayang: Acculturation/EnculturationKerajaan as political systemDomain organisation of society: simplified caste hierarchy

palace rulers (ksatria) religious functionaries (pedanda) common people (rakyat)

Major effect on religion and art Little influence on knowledge, technology, economy

Despite acculturation, basic continuity of archipelagic culture and society

ZAMAN ISLAM

Kerajaan Kasultanan

Literature: Islamisation of wayang Introduction of Islamic literary forms: babad, hikayat, etc.

Pedanda Ulama

Rise to prominence of fourth domain: traders (pedagang) Complementing the continuing three domains

`Shift of atmosphere', not a transformation

Stages of Cultural Development

ZAMAN HINDIA BELANDA (i.e. Dutch Colonialism)

A transition of greater discontinuity Clash of dissimilar cultures Greater impact on material dimensions of culture: economy

  Not absorption/refashioning, but DUALISM

‘Juxtaposing’' contact outdo `associative' and `conflictive' contact I.e. Plural society (Furnivall)

Emergence of economic or livelihood as separate dimension of culture 7 elements of culture now apparent

Stages of Cultural Development KEBANGKITAN NASIONAL (National awakening)

New awareness (kesadaran baru) Onset with Indonesian Youth Oath of 1928: NATIONALISM‘We, sons and daughters of Indonesia, declare that our homeland/sea

is one, the homeland/sea IndonesiaWe, sons and daugher of Indonesia, declare that we are one nation

(i.e. people), the Indonesian nationWe, sons and daughters of Indonesia, declare that we speak one

language, the Indonesian language.’

Culmination of Movement of cultural development: Aquatic Confluence `converged in the national estuary of unity, nationalism, and Unity in

Diversity' (bermuara pada kesatuan, nasionalisme, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika)

Hegelian assertion: Self-consciousness of unified nationhood as a cultural subject

 Teleological fulfilment of Cultural Subject in Era of National Resurgence / Awareness

Culmination in New Order: not just a regime, but a culminal phase or process in Indonesia’s cultural ‘development’ Realisation of (spontaneous, unconscious) development

(perkembangan)as (planned, conscious [aware]) Development (pembangunan)

Emphasis upon (previously neglected) empirical, scientific cultural dimensions Knowledge Economy Technology

Moertopo’s schema as New Order and Javanese expression Ali Moertopo's emphases as typical of New Order ideologues

Focus on (unifying) cultural development and avoidance of (conflictual) politics: 1945 Constitution’s mandate to government to develop national culture (Art. 32)

`National cultural development is acknowledged as being the basis for national development in general. Indonesia gives priority to the development of national culture to enhance cultural identity and national unity as outlined in the constitution and the state ideology.' (Soebadio) ‘Local genius’ = shared archipelagic culture

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah `Archipelagic Culture' as focus of Bajau Exhibition to celebrate `Year of

Indigenous Peoples‘ (1993)  Despite activist emphasis on agency, cultural subject is NOT the individual,

but the nation New Order regime acts for the people to realise awareness Corporatist and Statist: State acts for/as the ‘Cultural Subject’

Javanist orientation: Mentalitet Humanisasi Division of material and spiritual dimensions of culture: lahir/batin

The Uses of Anthropology: A Cautionary Tale Evolutionist rather than Evolutionary model (Toulmin’s

distinction): Teleology Master plan lies in or above history Hegelian?

Parallels to other Western evolutionist social thinkers Herbert Spencer & John Lubbock in 19th century Britain

Ideological functions of anthropological models `In the aggregate, evolutionists worked to realize a specific goal:

a society rationally managed, populated by a citizenry imbued with altruistic motives, a society that expressed the forces of history they identified' (Kuklick 1991: 106)

Nexus of Moertopo’s anthropological framework and (imperialist/statist) policy actions as a cautionary tale for anthropologists Imperialist and Coercive Uses to which anthropological schemas

can be put