Modernization is not westernization

Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo said recently that modernization is not westernization. He said we live in an era where everyone is racing toward progress based on intelligence, productivity, efficiency and time consciousness.

We share the minister's view. This is a serious matter because the common perception is that modernization is equal to a total imitation of everything western, encompassing all spheres from life styles to politics and economics.

Seen from the socio-economic point of view, for example, our society now is marked by hedonism, materialism, violence and exclusivity. It is as if we have become a carbon copy of the worst of the West. In the political sphere, political openness has come to be regarded as transparency based on antagonistic dynamism.

While riding the waves of high economic growth and globalization, it is urgent that the misunderstandings of concepts be remedied.

Self-identity could be preserved amid the information explosion as the case of Japan has shown.

It is important to remember that a nation can make strides forward without having to imitate anything western.

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta