Book review of Robert Taylor's The State in Burma--

Book review of Robert Taylor's The State in Burma.

This is one of the all time books that I love to hate.

I first came across the first edition about 1990 or 1992, while I was writing my Ph.D. dissertation.

A DC-based journal or magazine editor told me about five years ago, that his publication could not accept book reviews unless the book being reviewed was published less than x years ago.

That is when I decided, what the hell, if I am a professor of literature or comparative literature (the literature of different countries) I can talk about and write about any book any time.

Then I can just call it analysis or literature survey or review or literary criticism.  So now I can write about anything I want, from Boewulf to the Canterbury tales, to Dickens, to the Bhagavad Gita or the Kama Sutra.

So that's what I am doing now.

I pretty much tore apart Robert Taylor's book in my dissertation, and you can read it on line, my dissertation, at Penn Commons.

But I don't think Bob Taylor knows about that, as when I see him on the circuit, the last time in c. 2002, at SAIS (School of Advanced International Studies) on Massachusetts Av. in Washington, DC. he was as genial as ever, and indeed my criticism of his book does not mean I can't say Hi to him in public either--which is not true of all the junta ass-licking "Burma experts"--

I first met Taylor in Burma, through my bro, when Bob Taylor was living in the men's chummery, probably writing The State in Burma, which could be based on his dissertation.

I saw him sometimes at tea time at my bro's place, as my brother was then living in the Bagan Road house previously occupied by Saya Zawgyi (U Thein Han).

So when the entire wing of the Inst. of Ecos. burned down through an electrical fault, the inquiry determined, and my office burned with it too, just before I left in the early 80s, Taylor expressed a very real sympathy.

From my brother I understood his one dream as an author and scholar was to have met U Ne Win, once in his lifetime, in person.  I don't know if this dream of his was ever fulfilled.

The book and why I dislike it:

Like Thant Myint U's book River of Lost Footsteps, it's written in grammatical English and that's all that can be said about it.

1.  Taylor's book assumed that the bigger the state the better, so on an Amazon review, I gave it one star, because, I said, it starts on the wrong foot and it stays that way.

2.  A country does not get better the more the oppressive mechanism, i.e. the government, gets bigger and more powerful.  On the contrary it gets worse as the people are squeezed more. 

3.  What Taylor does not know at all is that in countries like the United States of America, government is intentionally crippled by design, so it does not get too big.

4.  That is why there are countervailing institutions, such as a free press and separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. 

But since he does not get the basics like that, then he just does not get it and the whole book is then pointless.

Two revealing anecdotes, one pro, one con:

Some of you may know I don't much like some of the UK based Burma experts, though of course there are exceptions.

1.  BBC Burmese--very corrupt, presently run by an incompetent.  Previous head whose name somewhat resembles mine without the surname, is said to have caused the death of a dissident, by leaking his name to the junta.  This was told by a well known journalist to a mutual friend who then told me about it.  Yet this woman is still on the board of Prospect Burma, Daw Suu's educational charity.

2.  In about 2003, I was in UK and at a dinner, these Brit Burma experts made fun of Bob Taylor in his absence, as he was married to a West Indian woman, they said.  They joked that he should take his wife to very black conscious and paranoid, racist Burma.  Now, I think that shows the level of the critics.  Why shouldn't he marry anyone of any skin color he wants?

3.  This incident is con.
In about 2002, SAIS had an event, put on by the old pro-junta apologist, in which Robert Taylor was a featured speaker.

I remember it was November, and the air was a bit nippy.

When I got there, I saw the DC-based students and dissidents demonstrating on the sidewalk, so I went over to chat with them.  I swear the organizers gave me a dirty look.  But why shouldn't I go and chat with my friends?

In the lobby, there was a dress store type brass stand, with hangers, for our coats.  I considered for a moment if my coat would be safe there (I was wearing a black rain coat), but then I hung it there anyway.  As a woman, I don't keep my wallet in my coat pocket.

When I got into the conference area, there were no more seats left, so I sat in the only seat left, which was between Moethee Zun and Dr. Maung Zarni in the middle of the front row.  Maybe that was why the old man ignored my raised hand to ask a question, but he always ignores me.

Then came the intermission, and that's when still sitting in the third row, I heard R. Taylor ask the old man where to buy a coat.

He said his coat, on that hanger, had been stolen, and so had his wallet with his credit cards in it.

I don't know how helpful the old man was, but Taylor was literally shivering with cold.

I leave you to reach your own conclusions.

I report what I see, that's all.

KMKaung.
3-23-2014