Historian David Marr notes that the same inherited Confucian philosophy still dominates the thinking of Vietnam's party elite, whose reluctance to relax central control and loathing of merchants is stifling the country's growth. Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Indian legacy holds sway, with variants of the Hindu-inspired concept of power as a divine right still honoured, albeit clothed in modern guises. But things are changing. Historian David Chandler argues that authoritarian rule is being challenged by citizens increasingly ready to demand their rights. While Asia's long history will continue as a powerful force in the new millennium, economic development and globalization in the region are fast loosening the oppressive grip of the past.
History never repeats itself.
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