Managers' Forum ~ Book Reviews
 

This book examines and describes different aspects of Indonesia.  It begins by discussing the country’s geographical features, economy, and culture in Chapter 1, titled “The Country and its People.” Chapter 2, titled “The Legacy of the Past,” focuses on the evolving of Indonesia and its history.  Chapter 3 assesses Indonesia’s “Performance and Potential” in terms of economic and political factors.  Finally, the book closes with Chapter 4, which explores the “Today and Tomorrow” of Indonesia.

 I have learned some interesting facts about Indonesia from reading this book.  For one, I did not know that Indonesia is one of the largest countries in the world, with approximately 737,000 square miles of surface area (5).  Since Indonesia is an archipelago, it is harder to picture the actual size of the country than if the country were a single land mass.

Also, as discussed in class, geography and agriculture has played an influential role in the developing of Indonesian culture.  The natives’ social behavior calls for “tranquil personal relationships and for the minimum of conflict” which can be attributed to wet rice cultivation.  This cultivation requires irrigation, which demands social cooperation (30).

What I found to be the most interesting of this book is the immense wealth potential Indonesia has.  The book used land, capital, and labor to explain this wealth potential.  Indonesia’s land is very fertile, and rich in minerals such as iron and coal (83).  The author claims that given the proper “…socio-cultural changes, the estimated wealth of a country…can be constantly upgraded” (83).  Indonesia also has an abundance of labor, that “given the similar degrees of cultural opportunity [as Britain]” Indonesia would be expected to “produce twice as many geniuses and twice as many Nobel Prize winners as Britain” (84).  Finally, even though Indonesia is short on capital, the large gap between rich and poor suggest that there is an economic surplus.  If economic resources are allocated more productively, the gap could be minimized (86).

This book is a good source of general information on Indonesia.  Although it was published in 1968, it gives the reader a good overview of the history and development of Indonesia’s culture and economy.
 

Caldwell, Malcolm.  Indonesia.  London:Oxford University Press, 1968.

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