Rethinking the concept of "dual economy": medieval Poland, Majapahit and modern Java compared

In: Internationales Asien-Forum: international quarterly for Asian studies, Band 16, Heft 3, S. 245-265

Abstract

This contribution disputes the view that "dual" economies are simply the result of a clash of a modern capitalist, colonial, commercial economy with a traditional pre-capitalist, domestic subsistence economy. The author shows that "dual" features are the result of a combination of two mutually dependent subsystems within one economic system. Taking Poland and Majapahit as examples, it is argued that the development of the conditions for external trade tends under certain circumstances to reduce a large part of the economy to a "traditional" subsistence economy. The appearance of "dualism" conceals the basic unity of one economic system. The leading groups in the history of Java are seen no longer as rival, even antagonistic classes, but as distinct strategic groups within one class. (DÜI-Sen)