Ne Win’s Burmanization Ideology: The Burmese Way to Socialism (1962–1966)

This chapter describes Ne Win’s how Burmanization ideology led to the oddly titled “Burmese Way to Socialism.” The goal of the ideology was to exclude Communists and capitalists and put the Burmese army at the center. To do this, Buddhism was put at the heart of the “Blue Book” which was an ideological statement describing the Burmese Way to Socialism. At the center of the philosophy were psychological concepts emphasizing the mind, and a philosophical approach emphasizing dialectics. The tension between destiny and materialism was to be emphasized. The ideology was disseminated widely and became the basis for the new habitus which is at the base of what the Burmanized population is today.