Still the “Opium of the Masses”? Religion and Labour Struggles in Indonesia

The article links the literatures on Indonesian democracy, Islamic politics, and labour struggles through developments and contradictions in the sphere of ideology. It maintains that there is a continuing marginalisation of labour as a social force in Indonesia despite earlier victories in the democratic era. This marginalisation can be understood not just through the specific constellation of social power intrinsic to Indonesian capitalism but also to a related process of "religionisation," characterised by the growing piety of Indonesian workers. Labour subordination has merged with the logic of the state ideology of Pancasila and with prevalent articulations of Islamic doctrine, posing internal obstacles to the growth of a robust labour movement. The analysis is based on recent fieldwork in the Javanese "heartland."