Living Beyond Modernity: Rethinking Progress through the Baduy Way of Life

Abstract Book of the 10th World Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2026

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Living Beyond Modernity: Rethinking Progress through the Baduy Way of Life

Merita Dian Erina

ABSTRACT:

In an era where technological advancement and economic growth are widely treated as
universal measures of progress, the continued existence of the Baduy community challenges
dominant assumptions about what it means for a society to develop. Widely recognized for
maintaining strict customary restrictions on technology, transportation, and external influence,
the Baduy community is often perceived as isolated or resistant to modernity. However,
beyond these assumptions lies a cultural worldview rooted in simplicity, collective
responsibility, balance, and the preservation of ancestral values. Rather than interpreting the
Baduy way of life as merely a rejection of modernity, this paper argues that it reflects an
alternative conception of progress that prioritizes social harmony, cultural continuity, and
sustainability over material expansion and technological acceleration. Drawing on a critical
review of anthropological literature and indigenous studies, this paper serves as a preliminary
conceptual inquiry toward future ethnographic research on the relationship between tradition,
development, and indigenous knowledge systems. The discussion also acknowledges the social,
economic, and political pressures faced by indigenous communities within contemporary
society, while avoiding the romanticization of traditional life. By situating the Baduy community
within broader debates on modernity, development, and alternative ways of living, this paper
ultimately invites a reconsideration of how progress and human flourishing are defined in an
increasingly modernized world.

Keywords: Ancestral Values; Cultural Continuity; Indigenous Knowledge; Social Harmony; Sustainability