Above: Planting rice seedlings. Below: Harvesting rice. Winter/Spring away from economic controls. 7 Capitalism and socialism have both failed to gain real control over daily life in Laos. This rejection of any kind of centralized, modem Nation State is a hallmark of the region. Without central control, many basic structures that Westerners expect to see have no place in Laos. For example, there is no national legal system, and only one prison in the whole country. Typically, judicial systems arise to support trade and large scale ownership, often for noble classes. The further away people live from what they own, the less legitimate are their claims to ownership, so a rigid system of enforcement becomes a necessity for powerful owners. This never emerged in Laos- the nobility were not very powerful because the resources of their domains were too limited. They could not afford to build a system to support distant claims. In the absence of a formal judiciary, people in a village decide for themselves what ownership means. The socialist government is the biggest organization in the country, yet many peasants think of it as a kind of intervillage support league. In Laos, independence can be found at many political levels and in situations that are unheard of in most countries. For example, provinces independently negotiate across national borders, and for the most part are required to finance their own services. But real control still lies in the village. In the absense ofa formal judiciary, people decide for themselves what ownership means.
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